A New Kind of Evil
by sleepyseven
Summary: AU, BellaXJames All human in the beginning. There is a evil group of vampires that are forcing James and his father to work for them. James and Edward will have to save Bella. More inside. Lemons, rape, Violence, Language.
1. Chapter 1

**_All Twilight Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_  
A Twilight AU. Everyone is human in the beginning. This story starts six months after Bella has moved to Fork's to live with Charlie. Edward, Emmett and Alice are siblings, Rose and Jasper are twins from another family so the regular pairings are still possible. Edward and Bella started dating almost immediately after he moved to Fork's and James is a student at Fork's High. His father gets caught in some criminal activity with a group of evil vampires and James must work to get him out of it. Eventually he and Edward will have to work together to save Bella. Enough with the explinations.. rating for language, adult content, and future lemons. Please Review!!!!  
*Links for the story images on my profile. **

**Chapter 1**

I heard Edward's Volvo pull into the drive way and I reached for the black jacket hanging over the back of my desk chair. No matter how early I get up it seems like I am never ready when he gets here. I ran down the stairs and searched the living room frantically for my notebook. A car door slammed outside and I spun too quickly to face the door, sending me down on my knees with a thud. Pain shot up through both kneecaps and I rolled onto my back, rubbing them both gently and imagining the bruises erupting across them already. There was a light knock at the door and Alice stuck her head in.

"Bella. What are you doing?"

"Looking for my notebook." I groaned and sat up to watch at her as she picked up my notebook off the TV, right where I had left it last night.

"You mean this?" She giggled and handed it to me. I smoothed my hair the best I could and limped over to grab my backpack off the couch and shove the stupid notebook into it.

"Edward sent me in to make sure were almost ready." Alice took a seat on the couch and looked like she was ready to wait awhile. This was our normal morning routine. Edward was too much of a gentleman to come inside himself. He didn't feel comfortable seeing me before I was completely ready for the day even though I had told him a million times it was ok.

"Well I am actually ready to go now." I smiled triumphantly as Alice looked at me in shock. I held the door for her and we walked out to the car together, well, I limped.

"Wow, I think this is a record." Emmett had gotten out of the front seat when he saw us coming and was folding himself into the back where he had been banished since Edward started picking me up for school. I just stuck my tongue out at him and hobbled into the passenger seat.

"Hey! I think we are going to be on time today." Edward laughed and put the car in reverse, I let him kiss my cheek before buckling my seat belt.

He looked amazing, like always, his blue eyes sparkled clearly at me in the cloudy morning light and his copper hair was just the right amount of messy to prove he never did anything to it and still looked perfect. It amazed me that he had ever taken any interest in me. Every girl in school would eat their own hair for a chance to be with him but he had some weird preference for me. Maybe I wasn't gorgeous like Rosalie Hale, but I must have something going on.

"So, did you find a dress?" Alice asked from the back seat. Edward had taken me to Seattle yesterday to get a dress for prom. My cheeks flushed, I am pretty sure I was the only girl whose boy friend had insisted on buying her dress. At least he let me pay for the shoes I thought grimly.

"Yeah, it's really pretty. It's white and it has one sleeve…" I trailed off, not knowing how else to explain it. The dress hadn't really been my first choice, but Edward really liked it so it was the one I picked. Alice laughed in the back seat, my fashion knowledge was greatly lacking compared to hers.

"One sleeve?"

"Don't worry Alice, I wouldn't let her pick something ugly."

"I'll check it out after school then" Alice settled back into the seat and began checking her makeup in the little compact mirror she carried everywhere.

"Dude, I can't believe you went dress shopping when you didn't have to." Emmett was looking at Edward in disgust. Rose had drug him to a million stores before she finally found the dress she wanted and even though Emmett swears he hated it we all know better. If it had to do with watching Rose change there was nothing about it Emmett would dislike. Edward just laughed at Emmett in the rear view mirror. Going to get a dress had been Edward's idea after all. I was going to try and find something cheap in Port Angeles, but he wouldn't go for it. He said since he asked me to go to the prom he should pay for everything. Luckily he had parents that were knee deep in money. Alice had confided in me that not all of their money came from Dr. Cullen's position at the hospital. Some of it was inherited from her Grandfather who had been some sort of medical equipment designer and had struck it rich on some x-ray machine he had invented. No matter how it came to them, the Cullen's were probably the richest family in Fork's, and probably most of the surrounding cities.

We were pulling into the school and I could see Rose standing next to her car looking as much like a model as ever. Rose and her twin brother Jasper were ridiculously out of place here in Fork's, just like Edward, Alice and Emmett. It was really no shock that they had all ended up together. There must be some sort of gravitational pull for gorgeous people to live in this rainy, depressing town. But even after being a part of their little group for six months I still felt like the odd one. Edward slipped his arm around my shoulders and we all walked into the school together, paired off into couples- Rose and Emmett, Jasper and Alice, Edward and I. I wasn't exactly sure when my life had become so surreal. Back in Arizona I'd had a small group of friends, and even a few male admirer's, but it was nothing like this. We were practically celebrities at Fork's High. Even the teachers let us do whatever we wanted.

I could feel eyes on us from every direction. That was nothing new- we were somewhat of a sideshow. Emmett's impressive size, and Rose's unnatural beauty were hard to ignore and Alice and Jasper were almost as physically appealing, even if Jasper wasn't as bulky as Emmett. It was odd the way other girls eyes lingered on me, as if they were trying to memorize my exact look and the way I moved, the same way they followed Alice and Rose. I guess when the hottest boy in school likes you your desirability increases. Well, possibly the hottest guy in school. There was only one other contender and as usual my eyes scanned the crowed for his blonde head. James Camden had actually been the first person I met on my first day of school. I had been searching for my first class and was late, like always. I came around the corner of a building in a rush and he was leaning against the wall, just staring out into nothing. I practically ran him over before even noticing he was there.

… Six months earlier…

_I dug my heels into the ground to keep from crashing into the blonde boy leaning against the wall and almost fell flat on my face, but he reached out one strong arm to steady me. My breath caught in my throat and a little squeak escaped. His blue eyes were startling in the shadows, they flashed like dark storm clouds with so many dark emotions tumbling over themselves in them. The angry eyes seemed so out of place on such a beautiful face. His eyes sloped slightly at the edges, making him look so sad. _

_"Hey there new girl, you lost?" He smiled dangerously and I wasn't sure if I should reply or run. I wasn't even sure if he was actually a student, he seemed older then a teenager. He had taken a step closer to me and all I could do was watch his body move with a fluidity I could never match. Then he snatched the schedule I'd been studying out of my hand and read over my classes. I just stood watching, too stunned to move._

_"None of these are very important you know. How about we take off and I give you a private little tour of our shitty town?" He had moved so close to me that if I took a deep enough breath our bodies would touch. I finally unfroze and stepped back hesitantly. _

_"Thanks but I am pretty sure ditching on the first day wouldn't make a good first impression." _

_"I bet your dad wouldn't be too happy about it either." He smirked at me but didn't move away. One of the perks of having the police chief for a father, everyone knew me before I knew them._

_"Probably not…" I managed to stammer out. Without thinking I reached to take the schedule back from him and he held it high above his head._

_"I really do need that."_

_"Don't worry, you can have it back." Though he didn't move to hand it back to me. Somewhere in my mind the danger alarm was sounding, until now I had thought he was just messing around with me, but something had changed in the air. I could sense the difference in our strength, and speed. He was standing casually, feet slightly apart, watching for my next move. The logical part of my brain was telling me to walk away, but something stronger was keeping me from moving. _

_"If you give me a kiss..." Those dark eyes seemed to be filling up my vision; his lips seemed so close to mine. For a second I actually thought it was a reasonable request. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, waiting to feel the softness of his mouth on mine. A sudden noise brought me back to reality._

_"James, you're not supposed to assault the new girls." A soft velvety voice flowed around me, but there was a sharp edge to it. I turned and was surprised to see another beautiful boy had come around the corner. What were the chances of the two most gorgeous guys I had ever seen both going to school here in this random little town in Washington? _

_"But they like it Eddie. " The casual feel that the boy, James, had while we were talking was completely gone, replaced with a predator's tense observation of the intruder. The two God like creatures stood only a few feet apart, both of them waiting for the other to make the first move. It felt like I was in between two circling animals._

_"So we better get to class huh, that second bell rang awhile ago." My voice sounded like a whine, desperate to calm the tension in the atmosphere. It was obvious that there was some ongoing battle between these two and I wasn't happy to be caught in the middle._

_"Your right, sorry." The new boy took a step back and smiled shyly " I'm Edward." He held out a hand towards me, the almost fight had apparently been forgotten. _

_"Be-" I began but was interrupted._

_"Isabella Swan, daughter of our wonderful police chief." The blonde boy had cut me off. He had been watching Edward and I with disgust until that moment. I blushed lightly. I wondered what else he knew about me._

_"Just Bella actually." I smiled lightly and shook Edward's still waiting hand._

_"Come on, I'll walk you to your class." Edward still hadn't taken his eyes off mine and I moved to fall into step with him. It was a second later that I realized that James still had my schedule of classes, but when I turned to get it from him he was gone._


	2. Chapter 2

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._**

**Chapter 2**

Things between Edward and James had just gotten worse since that first day, and I am pretty sure it was because of me. Edward and I had been practically inseparable but it never stopped James from making a move. Every chance James had he was asking me out or making some rude comment about my body. We had the last class of the day together, all three of us. While I was always nervous for what might happen, I was also excited to see James. Even though Edward was an amazing boy friend, I had never felt the electricity with him like I did with James. They were polar opposites, light and dark, and I longed for the shadows. Edward and I were walking to class now, hand in hand, and my stomach turned with anticipation.

"So, all ready for this weekend?" He asked me as we settled into our seats.

"Huh?" I always had a hard time concentrating during our last class. Edward had been trying to talk to me for the past few minutes while we waited for the bell to ring signaling the start of class, but I was too busy watching the door to pay attention.

"Prom, on Friday… remember? Are you ready?"

"Oh, yeah! I am going to just come over to your house and get ready with Alice and Rose. "

My voice trailed off, James stepped through the door and every girl in the class looked up to watch. Even though the entire female population at Fork's High thought Edward was hot, he was taken. James was still single, and just as hot as Edward. So his popularity with the women won out over Edward's hands down. Not to mention James was much more gracious with the attention. While Edward politely ignored the flirting, James was always looking for more. It wasn't that James hadn't made his rounds; he had already been with half the girls here. Even the girls I thought would never do anything bad would admit openly to giving James whatever he wanted, I mean anything. The stories I had heard while walking the halls made me blush just listening to them. Yet as far as I knew he had never had a serious girl friend.

If I am going to be completely honest, the stories I heard made me a little jealous too. These feelings were all very disconcerting for me. Edward is great- he is so considerate and sweet. He cares about other people and how they feel, but part of me just couldn't give up on the idea of James. This was odd, since James was rude, cocky, and didn't care at all what happened to anyone other than himself. Edward was the obvious choice, but you can't fight chemistry. With Edward I always felt safe, like I was talking to Charlie instead of my boy friend. James made me feel like I was walking on a tight rope without a net.

James had taken his seat directly behind me, like always, and the class started. Mr. Rodgers was talking about the moral lessons in To Kill A Mocking Bird, the book we had been studying for the past few weeks. I let my eyes glaze over and turned my attention to what was happening behind me.

"You comin' tonight?" I heard Chase Rothey whisper over to James.

"Yeah, I'll be there. Maybe." In the entire six months that I had lived in Fork's I had never heard James commit to anything. He was always the variable in any situation. The stories were he only showed up to school everyday because it was part of his probation. Don't ask me why he was on probation though, I wasn't sure which story to believe.

"I heard that those guys from Tacoma are gonna be there. I thought they were taking off last weekend." Chase was still whispering, spacing out his words when Mr. Rodgers looked up from the front of the classroom.

"They were, but I guess their plans changed." Chase sounded nervous about who ever they were talking about, but James seemed as calm as usual. There had been so many rumors about things James was caught up in that I wasn't sure what might be true anymore. Charlie had mentioned that Mr. Camden, James' father, was someone to stay away from though. He had a garage on the edge of town, but he didn't just fix cars there. Charlie couldn't tell me outright what exactly he did there, he just made it very clear that it was dangerous territory.

Edward had told me a few stories about James and his father too, things Dr. Cullen had seen in the emergency room at the hospital. He had never told me why him and James had such hostility between them though and I didn't have the guts to ask. I was so scared that if I ever even mentioned I had a interest in anything James related Edward would see straight through me and know instantly how much I really wanted to be with him.

"Alright, we are going to split off into groups now and work on a presentation about each of the separate lessons we have discussed." Mr. Rodgers was walking up and down the isles, pointing out groups and handing out pieces of paper with the assigned lesson and instructions. My heart did little flips when he got close to me and Edward and I could tell from the pattern of students he was pointing at that he was going to pair us with James and Chase.

"Here you go Ms. Swan, you can be the head of your group." He handed me the paper and signaled for James and Chase to join my table. I looked at Edward and his face showed the cleat annoyance he had for being forced into interacting with James.

"Well, looks like we got an easy ride here." James had positioned his chair directly in front of me and was leaning in closer then necessary.

"Hell yeah, we get the goody-goodies, easy A." Chase laughed, trying desperately to suck up to James. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my folder, hoping no one could sense how nervous I was.

"Look, why don't you two just sit back and do whatever it is you do, and we'll let you know what you're supposed to say for our presentation." Edward was beginning the outline, marking out which spots he and I were going to split up. I know Dr. Cullen was subtly putting the pressure on Edward to get into a good college and Edward was really paranoid about his grades. I wasn't surprised he didn't want anyone messing up the assignment.

"So Bella, have any plans tonight?" James lifted one pale blonde eyebrow at me. It was so frustrating that he could talk to me so calmly, even when my boy friend was sitting right next to me. Edward watched out of the corner of his eye but didn't say anything. He knew I could handle things myself, but I wasn't so sure about this situation.

"Can I borrow your book for a second?" I reached my hand towards Edward to take his worn copy of To Kill a Mocking Bird. I figured my best bet was just to ignore James and hope the hour went quickly.

"Cause there's a little party tonight, just a couple of us hanging out really, you should come." His eyes flashed when he smiled, he knew perfectly well what he was doing. In spite of my resolution to ignore him I took the bait.

"On a Monday night? Where?" Edward's head snapped up but he still didn't say a word. James leaned back; clearly enjoying the uncomfortable position he was putting Edward and I in. Edward wanted to intervien in our little conversation, but that would be rude. Edward hated to be rude, especially to me.

"At my dad's garage, after it closes tonight. " Edward snickered for some reason and the confidence in James' eyes wavered slightly.

"Sorry, I don't usually go out on week nights." I wanted it to seem like I was just being nice when I asked instead of genuinely interested.

"Do you ever go out? Or is that leash Cullen's got you on too short?"

"Stop being an asshole and leave her alone." Edward had finally had enough.

"What? She can't talk for herself now either?"

"Bella can do what she wants, she just chooses not to do it with a loser like you." Edward and James were leaning into the table towards each other. Chase and I were just watching them in silence, our eyes bouncing back and forth like we were watching a tennis match.

"I could show Bella exactly how to _do_ whatever she wants. I hear you're not exactly handling things in that department. Are you scared you might make your daddy angry if you get your pecker wet Cullen?" The rest of the class was watching now, even Mr. Rodgers had stood to see what was going on.

"Shut the fuck up James." Edward had abruptly stood, sending his chair scattering behind him. James stood in response and had moved away from the table. My stomach turned in knots making me feel sick. I had to stop this.

"Aw common Eddie, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Being a virgin is cool now. If Bella was my girl though, I don't think I could resist trying to hit it. I have a feeling if ou made it past first base you'd lie and say someone else did it anyway." James winked at me before turning to give Edward a dirty look. I was completely confused by his statement but I didn' have long to think about it. I saw a blur move behind me and turned to see Edward crouch low.

Edward lunged at James before I could reach out to stop him. Chase had stood too, just before the table was shoved hard in his direction. Everyone in the class was yelling now, they had formed a circle around the room to watch. Mr. Rodgers was trying to get a hold of James to stop the fight but he looked like he didn't want to catch a wild punch so he gave up and ran for back up. James and Edward were moving back and forth across from each other. Every time one of them tried to time a punch the other would duck or move to block it. Thankfully neither one of them had actually been hit yet.

"Edward stop!" I finally worked my way between them and pushed myself against Edward, trying to keep him from moving any closer to James and not get hit at the same time. I wasn't as fortunate as the two angry boys and a fist landed against my right cheek. Stars exploded around the edge of my vision and I stumbled backwards into someone hard and steady. The room felt like it was spinning and it threatening to take me down but two strong arms were cradling me, keeping me upright. From the moment I had been hit the whole room had been muted, but now sound was slowly making its way back into my head.

"Look what you did!" I heard someone yelling and I was being pulled away from the warm body behind me. I struggled to stay where I was, the pain hadn't started yet and I was sure once I moved it would. When I turned to see who was holding me it was two dark troubled eyes that were looking at me with concern. James had caught me.

"Bella! Are you ok?" Edward's face filled my vision now. I had to concentrate to remember what was happening. Like I had thought, the pain was starting to sear its way across my face. I wasn't sure who had actually hit me; both of them were extremely strong so it didn't really matter. Edward had propped me up against a table and was about to throw himself at James when Emmett came crashing through the door.

"Stop it man!" He had Edward in a bear hug, pulling him away from James. Everyone had stopped yelling to watch what would happen now. The room looked sideways to me, like a scene from the old Batman show. I expected the word "Pow!" to be hovering over my head in bold letters. The crowd was parting to let Edward through. He handed my stuff to Emmett and put a gentle arm around my waist.

"Come on, let's just go." He was pulling me towards the door, I lead the way let him- I wasn't sure my feet would move on their own anyway. When we reached the door I took one look back and saw James standing in the middle of the room, his hands slack at his side, his mouth still slightly open in shock. He looked so worried, even with my face already starting to swell I smiled lightly.

**Please Review!! It's right there, below this sentence! Plleeaassee!! =) Yay rmcrms5! thanks!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.  
Thank you so much for the reviews!! I love love love them. I know this is a bit of a spoiler but since Chloe McMurray asked I will spill. Bella and James will for sure be together in this story. =) hehe.. how could I not?? _**

**Chapter 3**

My face looked like a Halloween mask, swollen and every color of the rainbow. When Alice saw me she started crying, this was going to look awful in the prom pictures. It was really hard for me not to laugh at her. I was feeling slightly delirious at that point so I just tried to make it look like I was grimacing instead. Now I was lying on my bed with an ice pack on my cheek and Edward was sitting at my desk working on our homework. That was his way of trying to make up for getting me punched in the face.

"Do you need anything?" He asked for the tenth time in five minutes.

"No, I'm good." I couldn't tell him that all I really wanted was to be left alone. My mind kept wandering back to what it felt like to be in James' arms. He was so warm and hard, like a living, breathing statue. He had seemed genuinely upset when I left, and as awful as it was that made me very happy. It meant he had some feelings for me, even if it was just the guilt over punching me. On a normal basis he wouldn't even care, at least I didn't think he would.

"I think I'm just going to go take a bath." I sat up and tossed the ice pack on the floor. Edward made a face when he looked at me but tried turn away quickly, trying to keep me from seeing it.

"I'll take off then."

"You don't have to. Charlie never gets home until at least six." Maybe it was wrong of me, but I was constantly testing Edward. We had been together for a while now and he never even tried to sneak a hand up my shirt, I always wanted to push the limits with him, just to see how far I could get. Part of me liked to make him uncomfortable.

" That's ok, you don't need me hanging out in here while you take a bath." Edward was packing his stuff into his backpack.

"Is there something wrong with me Edward?" I stared down at my hands. He stopped what he was doing at looked up at me in shock.

"No! Absolutely not."

"Then why are you so against being close to me." I wasn't sure why I was questioning him now; perhaps the earlier blow had knocked a screw loose in my head. Things had gone on like this for months, why was I trying so hard to understand now?

"I just don't want you to feel like you have to do something you're not comfortable with." He smiled and pushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"Edward, I am ok with you know… being physical with you." He snorted and finished packing his things.

"Bella. You can't even say the word sex. How could you possibly think you're ready?" Frustration was building inside me. It always irritated me with Edward acted like he knew me better than I knew myself.

"I knew that you were a good girl the first time I met you. You don't need to act like anything different for me. Eventually, when the time is right, we will take things further." I wanted to laugh, to tell him he had no idea what he was talking about. What made him think I was such a good girl? If I had the opportunity I would gladly walk on the wild side.

"Just relax tonight, I'll see you in the morning." He kissed my good cheek and let himself out. All I could do was stand alone in my room and fume. How was it possible this guy that I had been with for months could know so little about me? I took stock of our relationship for a minute, trying to tally up the things we had in common and how much we knew about each other. The truth was that in the beginning I had been so thrilled that Edward would even talk to me that I never took the chance to be myself. Instead of sharing my own interests and desires I listened to him talk, I did the things I thought he would like and acted the way he did. That wasn't really me at all. We only ever talked about what Edward was interested in, would he even know what my favorite band was?

The light was fading from my window and a new idea was forming in my mind. I was tired of being someone I wasn't. Instead of the long bath I had planned on I took a quick shower. I rushed to dry my hair and change my clothes before Charlie could get home, I didn't want to explain my battered face to him just yet. I left a note for him on the refrigerator that I was going shopping with Alice and would be home late then grabbed the keys to my truck.

It seemed like it had been ages since I had started my rusty old truck, but it roared to life like a beast I had just awakened. It was completely dark now and a light mist was falling, I knew from experience it would be rain in only a few minutes. The roads were a little muddy but my truck handled them with ease. I had never actually been to Camden's Garage but I knew where it was. I had heard plenty of people talk about going to parties out there.

James' father was the kind of parent who didn't mind underage drinking going on at his place. In fact, I am pretty sure he supplied a lot of the alcohol. I prayed that tonight wouldn't be one of the huge parties that usually went on there, the less witness' the better. The last thing I needed was for Charlie or Edward to get wind that I had snuck off to the bad part of town to hang out with the guy who had used me as a punching bag. It didn't take as long as I had expected to reach the old building and when I saw how many cars were parked outside I almost turned and went straight back home.

There was a strange new courage propelling me forward though. I parked at the back of the parking lot and sat in the truck for a second. Through the back window I could see one open door, there were people coming and going, no one seemed to hesitate when the reached the door. I held my breath and took one last look at my now almost unrecognizable face before getting out of the truck. A steady rain was falling now and I pulled the hood of my sweater up over my hair. Luckily it had only just started and the ground wasn't totally soaked yet so I made it to the door without falling on my but.

I stopped at the door and glanced around the empty bay of the garage. Every recognizable surface was covered in grease, the smell of oil and other scents you would associate with a car burned my nose for a moment before I could get used to them. There were two beat up old card tables set up in the middle of the room with a couple people seated around them. Even though there were a lot of people only a few of them I recognized from school. I walked slowly into the room, searching the faces for James. When I came close enough to one guy his eyes went wide and he leaned back slightly.

"Damn! Look at her face!" For a second I wasn't sure exactly what he was talking about, I was so nervous about just being there I had forgotten that the right side of my face was swollen to twice its normal size. Everyone in the room had turned to see what he was laughing at and regret burned in my chest. What had I been thinking coming here? I turned to leave and walked right into a solid wall. That was what I thought at first, then I realized that walls don't wear shirts. When I lifted my face James was looking down at me.

"Bella?" He wasn't laughing like everyone else, he seemed puzzled by my presence.

"What are you doing here?"

"Um, I'm not really sure. I should probably just go." I was desperately trying to find an opening so I could escape. All the courage I had when I was sitting in the parking lot had dissolved into the night air and now I was just a scared little girl. I moved to go around James and he shifted with me.

"No, don't go." He put a hand on my shoulder to keep me in place.

"Hey. Shut the fuck up already. Your face looks like shit even when no one has messed it up asshole." James was yelling at the older boy who was still pointing in my direction. He immediately stopped laughing and turned away from us. Part of me wanted to give him the finger, but that probably wasn't a good idea.

"Let's go out back and talk." James took my hand in his and led me through the room towards a door on the opposite side from where I had come in. As we passed the little table I could see one was covered with red plastic cups and one large cup in the center was full of a muddy looking beer. There were three playing cards place over the opening and a few underneath it. Everyone was laughing and waiting for a skinny girl in a red jacket to pick one. The next table had tiny metal containers and balloons scattered across its dirty surface. I was definitely on foreign ground. We came out onto a covered patio with dirty plastic chairs gathered in small groups; a few more people were huddled close together smoking in the corner.

"So…?" James looked at me expectantly, waiting to find out why I had come.

"So you invited me out here, remember?" I couldn't bring myself to say I wanted to see him. It would make me too vulnerable.

"Yeah, I did." He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. His eyes narrowed and he slowly pulled the hood of my jacket back off my head. He let out one long low whistle and traced the edge of my swollen cheekbone lightly with his thumb.

"Damn. You can really take a punch can't you."

"Yeah. Oh you know- it's up there on my list of talents. Can drive stick, can finish an entire Jane Austin book in one night, handles a punch to the face like nothing… " I jokingly faked a punch at my own face and immediately wanted to crawl into a dark whole and die. Why was I being so cheesy? Why did my brain turn to mush when I talked to James?

"I'm really sorry though. I mean, I was aiming for Eddie and your face just got in the way." He was trying to joke, but I could see the remorse in his eyes.

"I know- it's ok."

"But really, it's kind of weird that you're here. Does Edward know?" James looked behind me through the open door as if he expected Edward to come walking through all of a sudden. I laughed shrilly.

"No, he doesn't know. He thinks I'm taking a bath or something."

"Wow, nice visual." James winked and gave my body a once over, making me shift uncomfortably. He had a way of always making me feel like I was naked.

"Well, you want a beer?" It was then that I noticed the silver can in his hands. I had only tasted beer once, when I had mistaken Phil's can for my Diet Coke back in Arizona. The taste had made me gag but I lied anyway.

"Sure." I followed him over to an old fridge on the corner of the patio. He opened it wide so I could see the options.

"What do you want?" This question stumped me. There were a variety of cans and dark bottles. I tired desperately to recognize one but I took too long. James shook his head and pulled out a can that looked similar to his own. I opened it and took a sip, trying not to look like I was swallowing vomit. James watched me closely, taking note of every movement I made.

"Man, Bella Swan, drinking a beer at my place. This is by far one of the weirdest things that has ever happened. If your dad finds out he's going to lock me up forever."

"What he doesn't know won't him." He gave me a skeptical look and pulled a chair over for me to sit in. I made a mental note to find out what kind of history James had with Charlie.

"You are one weird chic you know. You never do what I expect." He smiled and raised his eyebrows at me.

"That's what you get for trying to judge a book by it's cover." I tried to give him a dirty look but I think the effort was lost under the blanket of bruises.

"So why don't you tell me who you are then. Since I obviously don't have a clue. I thought you were just some stuck up bitch who followed Cullen around all day." He sat back, waiting for me to talk, his dark eyes concentrated on my lips. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. My first instinct was to tell him off, but when I thought about how I must look from the outside he was probably right. His full lips stretched into a sideways smile as I started talking, telling him about what kind of music I like, which movies I loved, and what I wanted to do after I graduated. He never once interrupted to tell me what he liked or wanted, he never tried to talk over me; he just listened, taking in every word I said.

**Please please review!! Make sure to check out "To Belong" By Quickbunny01 too... another good JamesxBella story!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._**

**Chapter 4**

"Wait, wait , wait… are you trying to tell me that you think Chris Farley is funnier then Adam Sandler?" James was shaking his head in disbelief. We had been talking for hours. When the subject had turned to movies his whole face lit up. It turns out we both loved war movies and physical comedy, we had more in common then I had thought. At first the conversation had been somewhat awkward, but now I felt like I could say anything to James.

"You want another one?" He had stood to take another beer out of the fridge and I nodded without thinking. I should have said no, my head was already swimming. After I forced the first one down the next few had been much easier to swallow. I knew I should probably stop but I didn't want James to keep thinking I was the "Stuck up Bitch" that he'd mentioned earlier.

"I thought for sure you'd be puking your guts out by now. Are you going to be able to drive home?" James handed me the cold can and sat back down in the chair across from me.

"Um, I'm ok." James studied me, completely serious for the first time all night.

"So, you want to tell me why you hate Edward so much?" I asked without looking at him. James sat up straight and cleared his throat. I wished I could suck the words back out of the air. James had become very tense very quickly.

"What's not to hate? He thinks he's so much better then everyone, if his dad weren't rich what would he have? That stupid hair and his looks, I don't get why everyone thinks he's so great." James took a drink from his beer and threw it across the small patio into the trees behind the building.

"You can't be serious. All the hostility I've seen between you two is because you don't like rich kids?" I knew there had to be more, James was holding back. He groaned and ran his hands through his short hair then down his face.

"Edward seriously never said anything to you?" He looked me in the eyes, waiting for the truth.

"Never a word."

"Alright… I guess I'll be the one to spill then." He cracked his neck and sat back in the chair. "You know Edward move here with his family when we were all in middle school right? Well at first I thought he was a cool kid you know, we hung out and rode bikes and shit… like kids do. I was always getting into trouble though- I have been my whole life, it's genetic or some shit. Anyway… Edward really wanted all the other kids to like him or something so he started doing stuff with us. Like dumb shit, spray painting walls, egging people's houses, nothing real bad. Then some of the guys started giving him crap about being a pussy and always running home when things got intense. So he came up with this idea to break into a house that was supposed to be abandoned but had all kinds of crap left in it.

We planned it all out and whatever we got out of there I said I'd keep and sell then we could all split the money. The night came and we snuck in through a back window and he was right, the house was full, like the people had just up and left without taking any of their crap with them. We went through the rooms and grabbed all kinds of crap and were sticking it in our clothes and bags and shit, then I followed Edward into this dark room and God it smelled so bad. I swore I thought those people had used the fucking room as the crapper and jut left it all there. I was pushing Ed you know, trying to get him to keep movin' so we could get the hell out of there but he was all freaked out. Well when I looked around him I could see why, there was a lady on the bed with her wrists slashed open. She must have been there for awhile too cause she didn't look right, her skin was all hanging off and I'm pretty sure some rats or something had gotten to her.

Well I started yelling at everyone to get the hell out of there and I got Ed to finally move, but he still wasn't acting right. He wouldn't talk or anything. We all came back to my house and I made everyone swear not to say anything and Ed nodded and I thought it was all cool. But he ran home to his daddy and had to fucking tell what happened. Only he told the cops it was _my_ idea to break in and steal shit. So I got arrested and had to go to juvi for a while but his dad paid off the fucking cops so he didn't get jack shit. "

I just watched as James' face changed with is emotions, finally knowing why him and Edward couldn't get along. It was so hard for me to imagine Edward ever doing anything bad, he'd always seemed so straight edge to me. He wouldn't even roll through the stop signs when he drove. My concern wasn't for Edward though.

"It didn't bother you?"

"Yeah it bothered me! It was his idea! And if he'd just kept his fucking mouth shut no one would have gotten in trouble."

"No, I mean the body. You were just a kid, it didn't scare you?"

"Oh. Well… I guess not. I've seen worse. It was just a dead body you know." James shrugged and looked at his hands.

"Just a dead body?" My left eye went wide with shock, my right still swollen almost shut.

"We all have to die some day right? What does it matter how it looks?" James' eyes were turning again, the dark blue waves building on themselves. I suddenly wanted to wrap my arms around him and take away every horrible thing that had ever happened to him, I was sure there had been many of them.

"What did your mom say?" I was whispering now, the conversation seemed to require discretion.

"She left when I was a kid. Couldn't handle living with a bunch of criminals I guess." He laughed but I sensed the pain buried behind it. James looked up at me, his mouth turning down at the edges.

"Don't look at me like that, you don't need to feel sorry for me." He seemed angry now, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"I know life must have been all peaches and shit growing up with your mommy in Arizona and having a cop for a dad, but not everyone gets that. It doesn't mean I'm messed up or anything though. I've taken care of myself and I don't need any fucking women to help me do it." My mouth hung open lamely and I had to remind myself to shut it.

"I didn't… I don't feel sorry…" The words I needed weren't coming. All the trust that had been built between us had broken, falling to pieces at my feet. I struggled to find the right words to explain how I felt but there was a commotion inside the garage that interrupted us. James leaned back to look through a dirty window.

"Shit… you gotta go," He stood quickly, holding out a hand for me. I hesitated for only a second before taking it.

"Why?" James didn't answer. He just pulled me around the back of the building to the parking lot out front. We stopped at the corner and he listened to what was going on out front.

"SShhh. Just hold on for a second." James held a hand up at me to stay still, his other warm hand still wrapped around mine. There were two cars parked right in front of the roll up doors now. They looked new- and expensive.

"Are you ok to drive Bella?" James whispered into my ear.

"Yeah, I think I'll be ok." The sudden excitement had cleared my head and I suddenly wanted to just leave, wishing I could take James with me.

"Ok, I'm gonna head over there and when I shut the door behind me you get out of here alright?" His eyes darted quickly across the empty parking lot; a slow rain was beginning to fall again.

"Is everything ok?" My instinct to run was being over powered by my need to protect James.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of this." The confident smile was back in place on his lips. I didn't think there was anything he couldn't take care of at that moment. James started for the front door and stopped after a few feet to come back to me.

"I am sorry about this though." He leaned in and kissed my swollen cheek softly. Before I could say anything he took off again out into to the cold rain. When he reached the door he pulled it closed behind him and I ran for my truck.

**The juicy stuff is comin'.. I promise! lol, there will be shirtless James' scenes soon! Please Review! You guys rock!! -Laura**


	5. Chapter 5

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer  
So this chapter is a little bit filler, but I am giving you the next chapter to make up for it =) I hope you guys are liking this!! Please let me know what you think!! And to those of you who have thanks so much!! _**

**Chapter 5**

When I got home the lights were still on downstairs. I tried to blow my own breath into my hand and smell it for alcohol like they do in the movies, but I couldn't smell anything. All I could do was try to act as normal as possible and hope Charlie didn't ask too many questions. When I opened the door the smell of pizza made my stomach growl. Charlie was reclined in his old chair, one hand on his belly looking like a content old house cat instead of a police chief.

"Hey Bells, how was shopping?" I glanced at the clock, I had been expecting to get reamed for being late, but it was only ten.

"Alright, you know Alice… buy buy buy." I laughed a little too loudly and tried to sneak around the couch with my hair over my face but Charlie caught my disfigured features as I walked by.

"Whoa! What happened to you?" He was out of the chair and pulling me into the light of the kitchen faster then you would have thought possible.

"I tried to stop a fight with my face, no biggie…"

"What? Who hit you?" He had the cop stance now, weight shifted to one foot, hand on his hip.

"Dad, it's not a big deal ok. It was an accident and the guy already apologized and everything. I should have just stayed out of it. But you know… I guess it's in me to try and keep the peace har har…" Charlie didn't think I was funny.

"Who Bella?"

"Um, James Camden." I held my breath, not knowing what to expect.

"Camden." He growled. "I knew I should have arrested that kid last time I had him."

"Dad! It wasn't his fault I promise!" Ok, so that was a lie, James had started it- but he didn't actually mean to hit me.

"His fault or not, he's bad news. He grew up with a bad influence Bella. His dad should be in jail right now but we can't nail him for anything. I know for a fact that drugs and stolen goods go in and out of the shop of his."

"I don't know about any of that but I do know that James isn't that bad. He just never had anyone to show him how to be good." I was partially trying to convince myself now, but tonight I had seen something in James. Something that wasn't completely bad.

Charlie leaned my head back to study my bruises again and shook his head.

"Talk about a bad day." He rubbed his temples and took a seat at the table. "You know, I'd rather you and Alice not stay out this late anymore ok. In fact I'd like you home before the sun goes down." This was new- Charlie usually wasn't very strict.

"What? Why?"

"There have been some attacks, a girl was murdered over in Beaver and another one is on life support. "

"What happened?" Charlie looked much older then his age for a second, slumped over leaning on the table.

"No one knows for sure, they were sliced up though, lost a lot of blood… I just want you to be careful alright?"

"Yeah dad." I turned to the open pizza box on the counter and lifted a piece into a napkin.

"Have you been around someone who was smoking?" Charlie asked- I froze. I had been so worried about smelling like alcohol that I forgot about the people who had been standing close to James and I, chain smoking all night. My brain raced trying to come up with an explanation quickly.

"Oh yeah, there were some people standing by Alice and I smoking outside one of the stores." I tried to sound casual as possible. I could feel Charlie's eyes on the back of my head.

"Good night dad." I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and ran up to my room.

Once inside I put down my pizza and water and crashed on the bed. Today _had_ been a long day. My face ached and I was developing a slight headache. With everything I had to think about, all I could concentrate on was James. My heart speed up when his face appeared in my mind. It shouldn't be possible for one person to be so extremely gorgeous. That messy blonde hair and blue eyes made my knees weak. Oh and those lips, they'd been so soft on my cheek. I could almost imagine how they would feel pressed against mine. I want so badly to run my hand across his stubbly jaw, to feel his body pressed against me.

I groaned and rolled over, pulling myself out of the sweet fantasy I'd been about to have. There was still the subject of Edward I needed to settle. I wasn't sure what to do. It wasn't fair to him for me to stay when I wanted someone else so badly, but I didn't feel ready to give him up just yet. It wasn't like I didn't have any feelings for Edward- they just weren't as strong. He would be so upset if he found out I went to James'.

Anger started to boil in my stomach. Why should he be angry? I am my own person and I can do or go wherever I want! Not like Edward was perfect anyway. Tonight had shown me just how imperfect Edward could be. Planning a break in is one thing, but throwing your friend under the bus is horrible. I reexamined how I saw Edward. For the first time since meeting him I didn't see the perfect angel I thought him to be. Maybe he didn't ignore the other girls in school because he thought their attention was inappropriate, maybe he really did think he was just too good for them. Maybe he did think he was better then everyone.

Then why should he choose me? Why am I so special? So many thoughts were bouncing off each other in my mind, making the pounding worse. I quickly ate the now cold slice of pizza, enjoying its greasy goodness. I would forget about worrying until tomorrow, there was nothing I could do about it now. All I wanted to do was imagine James lying next to me, his scratchy voice whispering sweet things in my ear as I fall asleep…


	6. Chapter 6

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._**

**Chapter 6**

If I had thought my face hurt yesterday I was sadly mistaken. I woke early to my jaw being so stiff I could barely open my mouth. James had a serious punch packed into his tight body. I sat up slowly, gingerly running my fingers across my cheek, inspecting today's progress. Not good… there was no way I was going to school like this.

I could hear Charlie moving around down stairs so I quickly headed down to tell him I'd be staying home. After seeing my face he didn't try to fight me. Next I had to call Edward to tell him not to come and get me. I had a feeling he'd insist on coming to see me anyway. I worked my jaw up and down a few times to loosen it before dialing his number. Alice answered on the second ring, sounding way too cheery for so early in the morning. She got Edward for me and I told him to go to school without me today. I might have been a little bitchy about it, but I feel like crap and I am not too happy with him right now.

After fishing out some Tylenol from the medicine cabinet I headed back upstairs to try and go back to sleep. It took awhile for the painkiller to kick in but I finally passed out. I wasn't sure how long I'd been asleep when a strange noise in the hallway woke me up. The light coming through the window was too bright for it to still be morning, but I was positive it was too early for Charlie to be home, and he wasn't the type to just come by and check on me.

It sounded like someone taking very slow steps, carefully placing their feet so that they made as little noise as possible. My heart raced and everything in my vision seemed sharper then normal. I crawled out of bed and over to the closet. There was a pair of old pewter candlesticks up on the shelf, they were the only objects in my room that I could think of to use as weapons. My hand crept along the dusty shelf trying to find them while I kept my eyes on the door, but of course I would have to mess this up. My hand was shaking so bad that once I found the cool roundness of the candlesticks that I knocked one off the shelf. The sound of metal clattering across the floor was like someone ringing a bell saying "HEY! I'm in here!". I crouched down in the closet and held my breath, waiting for someone to come bursting through the door.

Nothing happened. I counted to ten, then to thirty, and once I hit ninety I thought it was safe to leave my hiding spot. After picking up the heavy candlestick off the floor I slowly opened my door to- no one. Just the same empty hallway that was always there. My bare feet made shuffling noises against the hard wood floor and the stairs creaked loudly as I made my way down them. By the time I made it to the bottom I felt completely ridiculous, I still had the candleholder held up over my shoulder like a a shadowed figure came around the corner.

I screamed and swung with all the strength I had, flailing my arms back and forth, trying to make contact with anything I could get close to. I heard a sickening smack of metal on skin and the sound of someone groaning in pain. I screamed again and ran for the phone in the kitchen. Just as I was about to dial the last number for the police department I heard someone say my name weakly.

"Bella!" Some coughing and cursing, "Bella, wait!" I turned, the candlestick held high for another beat down. James came into the light rubbing the side of his head.

"Oh my God! Are you ok?" I hung the phone up and went to help James into a chair.

"Nice swing. Did you play softball or something?" A small lump was forming on his temple where I'd hit him.

"No, definitely not." I laughed and pulled an ice pack out of the freezer, wrapped it in a towel and placed against the bump.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Well, you weren't at school so I came to check on you. I wanted to make sure you got home ok last night. No one answered when I knocked on the door though."

"So you decided to let yourself in?"

"I, um… I just wanted to make sure everything was ok." James turned a pale shade of pink. It was the first time I'd ever seen him blush.

"I was about to leave when I heard a noise up stairs, I was coming to check when you came down the stairs. I didn't think you were here." He looked away while I took everything in. James was checking on me? My brain wasn't making sense of what I was hearing. I sighed and sat down next to him, now that the adrenaline was wearing off I felt shaky and weak. I took in the sight of James sitting in my kitchen. His black t-shirt was pulled tight across his sculpted chest, and he had on the dark jeans that hung low on his waist. I always notice when he wears them, I love when I can see that sexy little dip below his hips.

"Sorry I hit you." I mumbled. James laughed hard, it started deep in his chest and came rolling out in loud woops. I started to worry that I'd hit him _too_ hard.

"I guess we can say we're even now. But I think you got the rough end of the deal." He gestured at my face. For the first time I took note of my appearance. I had on a white tank top and loose purple striped pajama pants. My hair was hanging straight down, still stringy and full of static from sleep. I was a huge mess; I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet. James was studying me too, taking his time when he reached my braless chest.

"I should go get dressed, I'll be right back." I left James in the kitchen as I rushed to make myself presentable, grabbing some jeans and a t-shirt before sprinting for the bathroom.

My face had gone almost back to normal, my cheek was only slightly swollen but the purple and green bruising was still bright. I don't own very much make up, just some eye shadow and face powder, nothing good enough to cover up something this bad. I brushed my hair and teeth then went back down stairs, but James was already gone. He must have gotten tired of waiting for me and took off. The disappointment sat in my stomach like a bad meal. I tossed a few dishes that had been left on the counter into the sink roughly. I was more irritated with myself for wanting to see him then at him leaving. Why did I care at all? He was just some stupid boy with stupid blue eyes and a stupid smile… I walked back to my room slowly, wondering when Edward would come by with my schoolwork. I kicked open the door and almost tripped. James was sitting on my bed, looking through an old photo album.

"You take forever to get dressed." Was all he said without looking up at me.

"Who do you think you are? First you break into my house, then scare the living hell out of me, and now you think you can just come up to my room without asking?" My frustration had reached its boiling point. James just stared at me while I yelled at him.

"Maybe other people let you get away from with this kind of behavior, but I'm tired of it! You need to start treating me with some respect or leave me the hell alone!" The silence following my rant was deafening. My breathing came out in short pants. James stood up and stood very close to me, taking my right hand in both of his, looking deep into my eyes.

"Bella Swan, is it ok if I am in your room, looking at your very cute baby pictures?" He gave me a mischievous smile, like a child who asked to do something that sounded innocent, but would end in carnage. All the anger washed out of me and I was puddy in his hands.

"You are completely hopeless." I sighed and dropped onto the bed.

"Well, if you don't like me in your room, we could go do something else." The naughty look was still in his eyes, but my curiosity was getting the better of me.

"Like what?"

"You'll just have to come with me to find out."

'Is it something that might get me in trouble?" I smiled in spite of myself.

"That depends." I lifted an eyebrow in question. "On if we get caught or not."

I stood and took his hand, hoping I wasn't about to do something stupid. We left the house together, only a an hour before school got out. I wondered if I would be back before Edward came by, not really caring. James opened the door to his black Camaro, I only knew what kind of car it was because all the boys at school would talk about it. To me it just looked like a very black car that went really fast. We took off with cold air blowing through the windows and the radio turned up too loud. My mind raced with the possibilities of what my decision to leave with James meant, I was hoping nothing too bad was going to happen.

"Where are we going?" I yelled over the noise in the car. James turned down the radio and looked at me with his head cocked to the side.

"First, we're going to drop off my car and get my bike."

"What?" Oh no, oh no.. I was regretting things already.

"Don't worry, I know how to drive it."

James pressed on the gas and we speed down the empty road towards his house, instead of hoping that I didn't get in trouble I started praying that I wouldn't get hurt. Charlie would kill me if he found out what I was doing. I chewed nervously on my lip as we pulled onto the dirt driveway that lead to James' house. Through the trees to the left you could see his dad's car shop, today it was full of cars in various states of assembly. We parked and I followed James towards the shop, half running to stay extra close to him. When James noticed how scared I was he slipped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

"Don't be nervous." He laughed as we walked through the large roll up doors together.

There were loud noises and banging from all over the dirty room, men in stained blue jump suits moved all around us. In a small office that I hadn't noticed last night a group of boys that I recognized were hoovering around a desk covered in papers and empty beer bottles. A older verision of James was sitting back in the desk chair, looking through a tattoo magazine. When we came through the door everyone looked up with blank faces and stared at James and I without saying a word. Finally his dad spoke up.

"James, if you're going to go around beating on young girls don't bring them home afterwards." He smirked and went back to his magazine. Jams rolled his eyes and nodded at the boys in the office to follow back outside.

"You guys ready?" James leaned back against his car and waited for Chase to talk.

"Yeah man, is she coming?" Chase nodded his head in my direction, making me edge even close to James.

"Don't worry about her, she's cool."

"Bull shit, her dads the fucking chief of police!" Chase growled. He backed down when James gave him a dirty look.

"We're not going to have an trouble since we're not going to get caught, so don't worry about it."

Everyone headed for a beat up SUV at the end of the driveway except for James, who was walking a black motorcycle towards me.

"Looks like it, lets go!" Everyone started for a old beat up SUV at the edge of the driveway, except James. He laughed at the look on my face.

"You're riding with them, hurry up." I jogged over to the car and was ushered into the middle of the backseat. I was so sick I thought I was going to throw up all over the place. What the hell was I doing? I heard James' bike start up and the last door slammed behind me. We took off after James, towards something I knew I shouldn't be doing. I just wasn't sure what it was yet.

**Please review!! Thanks guy!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_**

**Thank you so much for the reviews!! I hope I don't disappoint with this story.. let me know what you think! Always! Even if you think it's getting to weird or whatever, I want to know. So anyway... as promised. A shirtless James ;D**

**Chapter 7**

Music was blaring in the truck and cigarette smoke was blowing in my face, I just sat in the back trying to disappear into the seat cushions. There wasn't much room in the backseat and I was pressing against the two boys on either side of me, I was wishing I were on the motorcycle now.

We roared down the highway behind James for miles. I could see his blond head up ahead of us and I almost giggled when I scolded him in my head for not wearing the helmet he had strapped to the seat. The trees thinned and the skeleton of a large hotel in the early stages of being built loomed in front of us. James pulled of the highway and rode across the grass to the back of the construction site. We followed, bouncing over the uneven ground. I could hear the clink of glass in the behind me, but whatever it was had been covered by a dirty old blanket.

When the truck stopped we all filed out and walked over to met James. He was surveying the large arches and support beams of the building, his blue eyes hard with concentration. The judgmental part of me had always suspected James of being somewhat stupid since he never got good grades and was always getting into trouble. With the way he was mumbling calculations under his breath and how all the guys with him waited for his orders made me think twice about my assumptions.

"K, Bella come here." He smiled and held out his hand as he passed me, heading towards the front of the building. I took his hand and followed him quietly, still wondering what we were doing here. He handed me a small black phone.

"I want you to hang out up here ok, if anyone pulls off the side of the road or if you see the same car twice, call me ok?" He showed me how to pull up the call log on the phone and just press the send button for the first number in there. I started shaking, I knew whatever this was it was the worst thing I'd ever done.

"James." He had started to walk away when I called him back to me. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm just helping out the builders is all." He winked at me and turned again.

"No one is going to get hurt are they?" James face changed slightly.

"Of course not." I didn't stop him as he walked away this time.

I hid in the trees, watching every car that drove by and straining to see what the guys were doing behind me. I only caught a few glimpses of what they were up to. I saw James and Chase edging their way across beams on the second and third levels of the hotel, my heart almost fell through to my stomach to see them up so high without any kind of safety gear.

I couldn't believe this was all happening in broad daylight. It seemed like we'd been there for a very long time, but when I checked the clock on the cell phone it had only been ten minutes. I sighed and shifted my weight, when I had agreed to spend the day with James I had sort of expected to actually spend time with him. One of the other boys who had been in the SUV with me ran around the front of the building with what looked like small bottles of water, weird I thought. It was too hard for me to see exactly what he was doing, but after only seconds he had gone back to the rear anyway.

I was startled when the SUV I'd rode in roared past me and onto the highway a moment later, heading off in the opposite direction we'd come. Panic welled in me- they were ditching me here. James followed closely behind them and pulled over next to me.

"Come on!" He yelled at me over the growl of the bike's engine. I just stared at him. There was no way I was getting on that thing. James looked over his shoulder and then back at me.

"Now Bella!" His voice sounded dead serious this time, so I ran over and hopped on the back, wrapping my arms around James in a death grip.

We had barely hit the pavement when two loud explosions pierced the calm afternoon air behind us. I screamed and buried my face into James back. I heard his laughter slipping away into the wind. Through my hair I peaked out behind us and could see a large pillar of smoke trailing into the sky out of the trees. Three more explosions sounded, I hid my face again and tried to control the panic starting in my head.

"I can't believe you just did that!" I yelled at James, he just laughed some more and speed up. We drove for miles, it had been at least half an hour since we left the hotel and my arms were numb from the wind. There was a turn off up ahead that took us west towards the beach.

I had been leaning my body up against James, trying not to make it obvious that I was taking advantage of my need to hold onto him to feel up on his tight abs. We reached the end of the road quickly and parked just off the shoulder behind the trees. My arms were stiff from holding on so tightly and I had to hold onto James awkwardly as I dismounted the bike. We walked down to the water silently, both of us sneaking sideways glances at each other along the way. Once we stopped I watched the waves crash violently onto the sand for a minute before breaking the silence.

"James, what just happened?" My voice came out breathlessly, like I'd just been running.

"We just went for a nice ride down to the beach. This one is the best, it's private."

'That's not what I meant." James rubbed the back of his head absently.

"We just helped the owner of that hotel from losing money on a dead end project." James sat down on the sand, resting his arms on his knees.

"You just decided that it was a bad investment for them so you thought you'd help whoever it was out?" I lowered myself next to him, trying to pick a distance that wasn't too close, but not too far.

"What? That wasn't for fun, the people who owns that property and hotel _paid_ me to do that. Didn't you wonder why there weren't any workers there today?" I thought about what he'd just told me for a while, it seemed like the world I'd imagined as being honest and fair when it came to business was actually corrupt. I was embarrassed at my own naivety for a minute, then the full weight of what had just happened crushed down on me.

I had just committed a felony. If we anyone got caught I'd be in trouble too. If I had to face Charlie with what I had done I think I might just die. Oh and Edward… what would he think? I laughed out loud, snorting a little at the end.

"What's so funny?" James looked at me like I'd just lost my mind. I couldn't reply, I was laughing so hard that my sides hurt and tears were running down my face.

"I- just… broke the law! A big one too!" I could barely get the words out over my fits of giggles, but James understood.

"That's right Swan, you're on the dark side now." He laughed now too, I think it was more at me than with me though.

"Cullen would shit a brick if he knew you were with me right now." James' laughter had calmed into soft chuckles and he was drawing lines in the sand now.

"Yeah, he probably would." I stared out at the water again, enjoying how pretty the day was. For Washington it was practically warm.

"So what's up with you two? I mean, is it serious?" I almost choked on my own spit. James was curious about Edward and I? I thought it had been obvious to James that things weren't so great since I had been sneaking off the see him.

"Uh… well. I dunno. I mean, Edward is a really nice guy, and a great boy friend. But I don't think we're going to last much longer." I didn't want to come out and say I would break up with Edward in a heart beat, I just wanted to subtly hint that I was interested in exploring new options.

"Does Edward know that?" James surprised me again. I wasn't sure how to respond to this. I sighed and tossed some sand on to his hand.

"Why do you care?" I smiled and tried to lighten the mood. I had just helped to blow up a construction site. I wasn't in the mood for serious.

"You're going to regret that." James sat up on his knees and pulled off his shirt. Every muscle on his torso seemed impossibly toned and tan. I was mesmerized by the way they flexed with every movement he made.

"What are you staring at? Take your clothes off." For a brief moment I didn't quite understand what James was saying, I was too busy examining the blond trail of hair that lead from his belly button into his low jeans… that he was now slipping off. Oh God…

"Huh?" Was all I could manage to get out.

"I said, take your clothes off. Unless you want them to be soaking wet." James was standing over me in nothing but a pair of dark blue boxer shorts. Apparently I had waited too long to act so James pulled me up by my arm and tossed me over his should fire fighter style. I screamed when I realized he was running towards the water.

"Stop! STOP! James NO!" I kicked and screamed. He stopped when his feet hit the water.

"Are you going to cooperate Bella?" He called back to me.

"Yes! Just give me a second!"

James set me done just out of reach of the lapping water. I took a few steps back and he crouched like he was about to pounce on me. Before he could grab me again I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my jacket. James watched intently, making me pause when I came to the point of removing my shirt. After counting three of my incredibly fast heart beats I took a deep breathe and pulled off my shirt in one swift movement. James was smiling now, and self-consciousness gripped me. My eyes scanned the area around us, for the first time it hit me that we might possibly have an audience.

"Don't worry, no one's here. I told you, this is a private beach." James squinted against the pale sunlight and leaned his head to the side. He looked so hot standing there; his skin was tight from the goose flesh that had spread across it, his nipples hard from the cold air.

Without another thought I pulled my jeans off and edged towards the water. When a tiny ripple of water rushed forward to touch my toes I let out a little squeal of torture, it was freezing. Before I could run for safety James had wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into the water.

Now I was screaming for real, the water felt like it should have ice floating in it. My hands and toes went numb almost immediately and I am positive my lips were blue. James was pulling us further into the water and laughed at my chattering lips.

"It's not as bad if you move around you know." He shouted over the waves.

I forced my legs to move, trying to get a grip on the ocean's floor, shaking violently in my bra and panties. James never let go of me though, keeping the water from sucking me under, and after a little bit I was able to get control of my balance. We just circled each other, both of us deep in thought. Suddenly a spray of freezing water rained over me and James retreated quickly.

"I'm going to kill you!!" I screamed and laughed at the same time. My arms were slow and stiff but I managed to splash him back. We played this game of splash and run for a long time it seemed, but my legs were getting tired and I am sure I was developing a case of hypothermia. James caught up to me easily since I could barely move, and instead of splashing me again he picked me up and carried me back to the beach.

He lay me down on the sand, which was blessedly warm from the sun and then collapsed next to me. We were both panting and shivering, sand had covered practically every part of my body.

"You really are the craziest person I have ever met you know that?" I wiped my hair off my face and laughed. James sat up on an elbow to look down at me, and then he did something I never thought would actually happen. He kissed me.


	8. Chapter 8

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._**

**Thank you for the reviews!! I really do appreciate it! Just a warning.. this chapter is pretty much just lemon. Hope everyone enjoys!**

**Chapter 8**

The contrast of James' warm mouth and his cool body pressed against mine was maddening. He was lying on top of me now. I hadn't even noticed him move. I wrapped my legs around his waist and ran my fingers through his short, wet hair. It felt like I was floating on an electrical current, somewhere in the universe planets were forming from the force of the chemistry between us. James sat up on his knees, looking down at me with such intensity that a shiver ran down my spine.

"Do you want to do this?" His words were barely a whisper. It felt more like his voice was in my mind then lingering in the air between us.

"Yes"

As soon as the word passed my lips James had scooped me up in his arms to pull me up to him. His mouth was everywhere- my lips, down my neck, across my chest. I held him tightly, trying to make sense of how this had come about. Nothing else in the world existed at that moment except for James and I. All my worries about Edward, my parents, school… it was all drowning at the bottom of the ocean.

My bra fell between us, exposing my hard nipples to the cool beach breeze. James let me slide back down to the sand as his lips work their around my breasts. The wind had picked up and was spraying us with tiny water droplets and bits of sand. Even the elements were excited for what was about to happen. James gripped each side of my underwear at the hips and with a quick flex of his arms ripped them in half. I took in a short breath and waited. I knew soon he'd be inside me.

I didn't watch as James freed himself from his boxers, I couldn't take my eyes off of his. They were blazing like the bright blue part of a flame, they had never been as bright at they were right now. James was gentle as his fingers found their way inside me, slowly working their way in and out. When I felt like I was about to explode with anticipation I could fell the tip of him touch the soft skin of my opening.

Slowly he entered me, pausing every few seconds until every part of him was inside me. We stayed that way, without moving, for what seemed like an eternity. James kissed my eyes and brushed my hair out of my eyes so he could look at them, his face was so beautiful. There had only been a tiny bit of pain when he broke through the thin barrier that had kept me a virgin for seventeen years, now the only thing keeping me was James.

"Bella…are you alright?"

"Yes. James… I want this." I wanted to say more, to tell him how long I'd thought about this moment, but he pushed his mouth down onto mine and began to move his hips so that he was pulling in and out of me with a slow rhythm. It was sweet and unhurried in the beginning, James taking his time to feel every part of me. Then I could feel him building, coming closer to the edge. His thrusts were fast and hard, making a sore spot between my legs, but the pain was almost was good as the pleasure. He hooked one hand on the back of my thigh, pulling it up around him so he could work himself deeper into me, and braced himself up with the other. It was coming, the release I knew he was waiting for, I could feel it too. Every inch of my body had gone numb except for the places he was touching, the warm center of my legs pulsed with pleasure. I couldn't hold back any longer, I closed my eyes tightly.

"Bella, open your eyes." James sounded far away, his voice lost in the crashing waves. "Bella, look at me!" My eyes snapped open at the exact moment he came in me. James lowered himself down, leaving himself inside me.

He carefully pulled away, and helped me to stand up with him. James wrapped his warm arms around me, holding me close to him. I rested my cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat slow down. I knew we had to leave, but I wanted just to stay that way for the rest of the night.

He slowly released me, kissing my forehead before stepping away to put his clothes back on. We dressed quickly, the sun had disappeared behind the clouds and the beach was cold now. Once we reached the motorcycle James stopped me.

"Are you sure everything is alright? I mean, you're ok with what just happened?" He seemed scared to hear my answer.

"I'm sure." I took his hand, trying to show him that it was what I had wanted.

"I just thought you would want it to be special you know, with the right person."

"James, it was with the right person." I smiled when his eyes widened, then melted when he kissed me again.

"I should probably take you home before you get in trouble or something." James handed me the helmet that had been strapped to the seat.

"What's this for?" I asked him. He hadn't been worried about me wearing it earlier, so why now?

"I brought that for you to wear before, but we had to get out of there in such a hurry I totally forgot about it." He handed it to me sheepishly.

"Thanks." My smile threatened to spread to my ears so I quickly pulled the helmet over my head. James got onto the bike, starting it after I was firmly seated behind him. As soon as I locked my arms around his chest we took off down the highway, trees passing us in a blur.

I enjoyed the ride so much more the second time. I almost wanted to let go of James and lean back with my arms in the air. Of course I didn't, but that was how free I felt. The trip back wasn't nearly long enough, we were pulling up to my house before I was ready to let go of James.

He helped me off of the bike and I stood in front of him, not really sure what to say. His eyes were locked on something behind me, they were soft though, like he was seeing something that made him sad. I turned to see what he was looking at and my heart stopped. Edward was leaning against his car parked in my driveway, looking like someone had just shot him in the heart.

"Oh no." I breathed, feeling the high I had been on after the beach slip away. "What do I say to him?" I hadn't meant to say it out loud, but James heard me.

"Tell him what you think is right Bella." James started the bike and took my hand. He looked at our two intertwined hands for a second before letting it go and racing away without looking back at me.

My legs carried me slowly up to Edward. My brain was spinning out of control trying to figure out what to say to him. When I reached him my mouth went dry, there was nothing I could say to make this better.


	9. Chapter 9

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer  
Thank you all for reading my story! I recognize a lot of you from the other stories and I am really grateful that you are taking the time to follow this new one. Please keep it up.. because of you guys I am trying to write as much as I can as fast as I can! Woohoo =) And thank you to Quickbunny01 for letting me blab about my always changing ideas. You're the best!_**

**Chapter 9**

Edward just stared at my face, waiting for me to say- something. I had no idea what to tell him. How can I explain that I had ditched school, left with James after he broke into my house, helped him burn down an almost hotel, then had sex with him on the beach? There were no excuses, I chickened out and decided to lie through my teeth.

"This is really complicated." I stuttered between each word, making it sound even worse then I had meant it to.

"Bella- here's your homework." He handed me a bunch of papers folded in half. They were warm from his hand. He must have been waiting for a while. Edward turned and put his hand on the door handle to his car.

"Wait, don't leave like this. Please Edward, talk to me." I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him. This wasn't how I wanted things to be between us, Edward had been good to me, he deserved an explanation.

"What's to talk about Bella? You just rode up on the back of a motorcycle with the only person in the world I would like you to stay away from. I'm not really sure how to feel about that."

"We were just, hanging out." I shrugged and kicked at his tire. This was horrible. I just needed to say that it was over. Let him go with some dignity.

"Hanging out? Bella he almost knocked you out yesterday when he was trying to hit me! Besides, what could you and James Camden possibly have to talk about?" Edward half laughed, like James and I spoke different languages, how could we ever communicate? Anger turned my vision red; he just made this very easy for me.

"How would you know? Not like _you_ ever actually talk to _me_. James listened to what I have to say! And we have a lot in common thank you! He's just a little misunderstood. I'm sure you don't really care though do you? Since you're part of the reason he has such a messed up past!" I was seething now, how dare Edward pull this better than you crap with me.

"What? How could I have anything to do with James being a total screw up? I learned a long time ago to stay away from that guy. He's always been a loser. " Edward was yelling right back, both of us about to butt heads like two rams fighting for territory.

"Are you kidding me? You sent him to juvi when you guys were in middle school! He told me all about breaking into that house and finding that dead body and calling the cops and telling them it was all his idea!" My hand balled into a fist and I was ready to punch Edward in the face.

"Did he tell you I changed my mind at the last second? That I wanted to just back out; that he and all the guys ragged on me and swore to kick my ass if I backed out? We went into that house and it smelled right away, it was horrible. Then I found that lady, and I had never seen a dead body before. I freaked out ok! James was all-cool about it, but I guess he'd seen stuff like that before. I didn't know she'd killed herself, all I saw was a rotting corpse that had been slashed open!" Edward shook his head, trying to get the image out of his head.

"I tried to convince James to go to the cops with me but he just got all pissed off. So I told my dad the truth that night, I said it was my idea. I told him that James came along with me but that it wasn't his fault. My dad called the cops and pinned it on James. I guess since who he is they didn't even question it, and since I didn't have a record or anything they just sort of ignored me."

"You could have told everyone the truth." I whispered, all the anger was gone now, leaving me completely confused about what to think.

"I wanted to, James was the only kid who was nice to me when we moved here. When the other guys weren't around, he was decent you know. I think if he weren't stuck with his asshole of a father he'd be ok. My dad though- he got on this trip about how James was already destined to end up a loser. That I was smarter then that and as long as I don't 'ruin my future with another fuck up' I'd be as good as him someday. He put all this pressure on me to like, follow in his foot steps and crap."

"Ok, I get that. But is it really an excuse to let James take your place in jail? How could you do that? James is smart, if given half a chance he can make it out of the life he was born into." Tears had somehow worked their way into the corners of my eyes. If everyone expected James to fail, why would he work to achieve anything? I knew he was better then that.

"Bella, I was thirteen. I was scared. I even snuck off to go see James so I could apologize to him. I took a bus for forty-five minutes then rode my bike for another thirty just to get to the detention center, but he wouldn't talk to me though. He never has since then. I guess it's just been easier for me to write him off." Edward ran a hand through his perfectly messy hair. How could I do this to him, he wasn't an awful person, he was just misunderstood. Like James…

"Look, I don't know what you were doing with James today… but I know your better then what he has to offer. I saw it on that first day, when the two of you were standing together in the hallway. It was in your eyes then, the same look that all the girls have when they look at him. It's not real Bella; he doesn't have anything to offer. It's that whole bad boy image, all the girls like it." Edward was pleading with me, willing me not to say what he knew was coming.

" Edward- " He kissed me, softly. It could feel how sad he was through that kiss.

"Just think about things Bella, wait until prom. Then decide ok." I nodded and Edward got into his car, leaving me standing alone in the driveway.

Raindrops fell on my hair, making it smell like the beach. I couldn't think; there were no clear thoughts were forming in my mind. Edward, or James? The choice should be easy, but the circumstance was getting in the way. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I wanted to be with the right one. Just- who was it?


	10. Chapter 10

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.  
_So, I said this would have vampires in it and they have finally made their entrance.. dun dun duunn.. lol. Sorry it took so long, but my husband is getting butt hurt from all the writing and is threatening to block the fanfiction site after I finish this story, so I am trying to draw it out haha... Thanks for all the reviews guys! Keep 'em coming!! **

**Chapter 10**

Charlie pulled into the driveway to me still standing in the pouring rain. I had been staring out into the trees, not really seeing anything. I didn't even see Charlie until he was standing directly in front of me.

"Bella, what are you doing?" My mouth formed words without my command.

"Edward just left, he brought me my school work." I sounded robotic and empty, I held up my soaked papers for Charlie to see.

"Ok… well come on, your gonna drown out here." I followed him into the house, everything automatic.

"I'm not gonna be home for long Bells, I have to head back to work for a bit." Charlie pulled a can of beer out of the refrigerator and sat down at the table. This wasn't normal Charlie behavior, he usually only drank when he was fishing. He must be really stressed. I started about making him a sandwich, trying to focus on what he was saying. Charlie had unfolded a newspaper he'd stuff in his jacket pocket and spread it out on the table.

"Things are bad all over Bells, I don't even know where to start." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. I put the sandwich on a plate and dropped it in front of him, hoping to escape to my bedroom to think for a while. He sounded so out of it though, I felt bad for ditching him.

"Someone blew up a multimillion dollar hotel development today, so far all the hits have been out towards Seattle. I don't know why they'd come out towards Fork's now." I stopped in the doorway, my heart in my throat.

"All the hits?" My voice was dry and scratchy, giving away my over interest. Charlie didn't catch it.

"Yeah, this has been going on for a few months now. Different building complexes, shopping malls, houses even… they're all getting blown to hell. Don't know why either." Charlie sounded more like he was talking to himself now. He took a bite and I stood over his shoulder, contemplating what he was saying. James couldn't have been involved with the other fires could he?

My thoughts were interrupted by something on the table, no, someone. A face I'd seen before. On the front cover of the newspaper was a skinny girl with a wide smile, staring out from a snowy mountain picture. The caption below her picture read 'Sherrie Melrose, missing since Monday night. She was supposed to be at the movies with friends but she never came home. If you have any information you are encouraged to contact the Beaver police department.' Her face called up to me, I tried to remember how I knew her. Suddenly it flashed in my mind- a dirty garage, a group of kids sitting around an old card table, and skinny girl in a red jacket. The room tilted on itself, I put a shaking hand on the back of the chair to keep me steady.

"Dad, I need to go over to Edward's for a little while to get some help with my English homework. " I grabbed my truck keys off the hook and headed for the door.

"I might not be home when you get back, can you call me when you get here?" I nodded and walked calmly to the door, once it was shut tight I ran through the rain to my truck.

All I could do was stare out the dark windshield, trying to make sense of everything that had happened. There was no way any of this could be connected to James. I wouldn't let myself believe it. Oh, please I begged, don't let it be. There was only one thing to do now, I started my truck and drove as fast as I could to James' house.

The world had lost all of its color outside my windows. Everything was grey and blurry. I passed trees and buildings, squinting through the rain to see anything. Edward had told me to wait until prom to make my decision, but whatever happened next would decide things for me. If I believed what James had to say about what was going on, good or bad, I would stay with him. Well, as long as he convinced me that he'd never hurt anyone. Here I was, making conditions already. I just wanted to love him, everything there was about him, no matter what. Do I really care if he's hurt somebody? Did that really change my feelings, or did I just think it should?

The shop was coming up ahead, I could see its lights casting shadows in the parking lot. I drove past it and pulled onto the driveway to the house, slowing to a crawl and trying to find James' car. It was parked towards the back. His bike was up against the house; that meant he has to be here somewhere.

Rain pounded loudly on the roof of my truck, like it was trying to keep me inside. I counted to ten then sloshed through the water and mud to the porch. The house was dark inside. I knocked loudly and waited, no one came to the door. After three more tries, even though I knew no one was inside, I gave up and crept across the drive way towards the shop.

The parking lot was full of cars but the roll up doors weren't open like usual. I was soaking wet when I reached the window on the wall closest to the house. Wiping the water out of my eyes I looked through the only clean spot on the window. There were a group of men standing in the middle of the room, James and his father with them. The rain was too loud for me to hear anything so I made my way around to the back.

I inched over to the open door and pressed my back against the wall, holding my breath so I could hear what was being said. At first the voices were muffled, then there was yelling. I recognized Mr. Camden's voice.

"We've paid you back and then some, our debt is fulfilled. Now leave us alone, there's nothing else we can help you with." It sounded like he slammed something down.

"Our original arrangement is now null and void. It is no longer an option for you to stop working for us." A thick Spanish accent filled the air. Some of the words were barely understandable.

"God dammit, I knew it was a bad idea to do business with you creeps in the first place. Now I told you, there is nothing else my son and I can help you with. So why don't you leave us alone! You've already caused enough trouble here." Feet were shuffling around, someone was nervous. I wanted so badly to peak around the corner and see James' face. Something bad was happening.

"If you do not do as you are told, we will be forced remove you as a possible threat." I understood that perfectly clear, James and his father would either cooperate, or they would be dead.

"Now unfortunately, it seems that we have an unexpected visitor." The accented voice sounded much closer now, before I could figure out where it was coming from a hand reached out from the open door and took a hold on my jacket, yanking me inside.

A man with pale skin and dark hair was holding me very close. His eyes were bright red, like blood and his skin was the color of paper. He was dressed in what looked like a very expensive suit, and even though he was extremely skinny he was incredibly strong.

"Who are you?" He growled in my ear.

"She's with me, I told her to wait in the house though." James had appeared at my side and was putting his hand over mine, not pulling me away but waiting for the man to release me.

"Didn't I Bella, I said I'd be done soon." The frightening man had let go of my jacket and almost like a magnet I attached myself to James.

"I-I'm sorry James. My dad called and wanted me to come home, I was just coming to say bye." I was squeezing James' hand so hard my wrist started to hurt. Every part of me knew there was something evil about this man and his friends. All I wanted to do was run. The only thing keeping me from bolting was James.

"She's very pretty, almost pretty enough to eat." Another man had stepped forward, he had the same accent, but his hair was dark blonde and he was much thicker then the first man. His eyes were the same disturbing color of red; James tensed next to me.

"I said she's with me. And she's going, now." James tugged on my arm and we moved towards the front door. When we were outside James didn't say a word, we kept walking hand in hand to my truck.

"What were you thinking?" He turned on me, his eyes blazing.

"I wanted to talk to you, about today. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have been spying." Tears poured out of my eyes. I never thought James could look so angry with me. He softened slightly.

"Don't cry Bella, I'm not mad at you… those men are just really dangerous. Now that they know you're important to me they will use you against me. I didn't want that to happen." His face clouded over, my coming here had just made things much worse for him.

"Look, go home and stay there. I will come and see you as soon as I can and explain things ok. " I nodded and moved into his arms. Hugging him as tightly as I could.

"Are you going to be ok?" I asked him, I hated that it felt like we were saying goodbye.

"Don't worry about me ok. Just go home and try to be careful. Not like it will help anyway…" James lifted my chin and kissed my lips absently, looking into the trees behind us.

James watched as I backed out of the drive way and drove away, his face was sullen and hard. My fist thoughts were to go to Charlie, tell him everything, he could help James, but something in my gut told me that the police couldn't do anything about these men. I cranked up the heater but it didn't help the chill that had settled into my bones. My heart ached as I thought about James being out there with them, so vulnerable. Even as strong as he is I doubted he could fight back against those guys.

I felt warn out from the way my emotions has been yo-yoing up and down all day. When I got home I went upstairs and ran the hottest bath I could, hoping to be able to relax just a little bit. When I got in the water came up to my chin, covering every part of my body, the scalding water did nothing to warm me though. I was wrong; the chill went past my bones and straight to my soul.

My mind drifted in and out, exhaustion setting in. My dreams were filled with visions of James and Edward fighting each other, then of James fighting a monster with blood dripping from its fanged mouth. I sat up with a start, the water had gone cold, I had been asleep longer then I thought.

It unnerved me slightly that I had fallen into such a deep sleep in the tub. I dried off quickly and walked to my room trying to shake the uneasy feeling off. Charlie still wasn't home, I remembered now that he had wanted me to call him when I got in. I ran down the stairs in my towel to the kitchen and dialed the number for the station and the night dispatcher answered.

"Hi, this is Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter. Is he there?" I sounded like a little girl to my own ears.

"Oh sorry hun, he had to leave for a bit. Do you want me to radio him?" The women's motherly side came out now that she knew who I was.

"No, just let him know I called and tell him I am home now."

"Ok hun, have a good night." She hung up and I put the receiver back in place.

The silence was ominous, I am not usually afraid to be alone in the house, but right now my skin was prickling in fear. Someone was here. I couldn't hear anything but I was sure of it. The candlestick I had hit James with earlier was sitting on the counter but I wouldn't be able to fight anyone in just a towel. I made a split second decision and bolted for the stairs. My bare feet pounded on the wood floors and lunged for my room. I landed on the floor with a crash and slammed the door behind me, but I was too late. He was already in my room, waiting for me.


	11. Chapter 11

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._**  
**Lemon in the second half of the chapter, you've been warned. ****  
**

**Chapter 11**

"Bella! What's wrong?" James jumped up off the bed where he had been sitting to help me up off the floor.

"Holy mother of God James! You scared the living hell out of me!!" I yelled at him while trying to keep myself covered and get up off the floor gracefully. It wasn't happening.

"Sorry, you were in the bathroom and I didn't want to bother you. You seriously take a long time in there with whatever it is you do." He snickered at me and helped me to sit on the bed next to him. I remembered earlier today when I thought he'd gone when he had really just snuck up to my room.

"I do not take a long time! I was taking a bath anyway, I didn't think there was someone waiting for me."

"I said I'd come by." That was true, he _had_ told me he would come over.

"James, you have some serious explaining to do. What is going on? My dad told me there have been other fires. And there is a girl who was at your party on Monday that has disappeared and those other girls were attack, and who were those creepy men?" I knew there were more things we needed to talk about, but those were at the top of my list.

"Hold on there sparky, one question at a time. And can you please put some clothes on so I can concentrate. When is your dad coming home?" James asked the last question while keeping his eyes fixated on where the towel ended at my thigh.

"I'm not sure when he'll be back, I guess he had to go out on a call or something." I tried not to be too self-conscious about having James in my room and me only in a towel, not like he hadn't already seen the full picture. I pulled some sweats and a tank top on rather awkwardly while trying to keep the towel up at the same time.

"I can't stay long anyway, but I don't need your dad coming home with me in your room. I have enough people who want my blood…" James laughed nervously and messed his hair.

"Look, those guys you saw… they are seriously bad news. I wish you wouldn't have come over when you did. Oh man… " James rubbed his eyes, he looked so tired. I wanted him to lie down next to me and forget the world for a while, but I knew this was important.

"Just tell me what is going on, be honest and it will be ok." I encouraged him, then waited for him to talk.

"Ok, so my dad is a criminal, I'm sure you got that already. He was running drugs for a while and moving stolen goods, nothing too big though you know? He got this huge offer to move some stuff for a Mexican drug lord and his dumb ass took the job even though it was way out of his league. Well the whole thing went to shit, he used some guys that he didn't know that well and they ripped him off, so it looked like he ripped the Mexican guy off right? So he worked it out to pay back what he owed but they knew from the beginning how small town my dad is and that he didn't have the money for it. They would have just come up here and killed him but they decided to sell his debt to those guys you saw instead. Figured they'd make some money instead of wasting it on having someone whack him." James stopped and studied my face, I wasn't sure if I looked as freaked out as I was.

"I had to help my dad out 'cause those guys were asking him to do a lot of shit he couldn't handle and they were going to kill him. They swore I just had to take out a few buildings out in Seattle and it would be done, but they just kept asking for more and more. It got out of control and now they have us in a death grip. If we don't do what they ask they can black mail us or more likely just kill us both." My arms went around James, holding him tightly.

"James, what are you going to do?"

"Whatever they want for now, until I figure something out. I have to leave though, it's not safe for everyone if I stay." My head snapped up so I could see his eyes. They were sad and distant.

"No! James, you can't leave now." I was about to beg him to stay, to plead my case. He had to stay with me; we had only just really found each other.

"Bella, you said it yourself. People are getting hurt around here. They already got to Sherrie and she was just some random chic who came to my place. I know they have been attacking girls all over this area. Now they saw you and they saw me try to protect you. If I stay they will use you to make me do things, horrible things. If I go they can still threaten to do stuff, but it will be less likely to happen."

I shivered and huddled myself closer to James, his warm body was so inviting. Imagining never touching him again made me feel empty inside. I couldn't stop the tears from coming.

"Bella, I'm sorry." James wiped a tear off my cheek. "You're better off with Cullen anyway, we both know it."

"Don't say that! I love you! I always have." The words had just slipped out, I hadn't meant to say them.

"Na, you don't love me. I'm just some loser criminal, and you're just rebelling by being with me. After I'm gone for a while you'll see it, Edward will take care of you."

"Stop saying that! I know how I feel! And you're not a loser… I know you're smart. So do those guys, or they wouldn't want to keep you around so bad! Why can't I come with you? We'll run and hide, it will be ok if we're together." I sounded like I had gone completely mad. Offering to run off into the night with him and never look back, it was how I felt though.

"Bella, you don't understand. They'll find us, anywhere we go. This sounds crazy, but they aren't human." James held each side of my face gently, forcing me to look in his eyes. It did sound crazy. I knew he was being dead serious though.

"What are they then?" I had to know, I couldn't let James go without knowing what he was fighting against.

"I- er… ok, I think… that they're vampires. But not normal, sun light fearing, stake through the heart kind of vampires. Whatever they are, they're killers. I know that for sure." James' eyes went out of focus and he was lost in some dark memory.

I was too frightened to shake him out of it. My own mind was pulling me deeper into the nightmares I'd had earlier. James fighting a bloody monster with fangs, they had been strangely accurate. It was so hard for me to accept, but I knew it was true. I had known that man wasn't human the second he touched me. I felt sick to my stomach; my world had been flipped upside down.

"Bella, I have to go." James kissed away the tears on my cheeks and pulled me in close to him. I took a deep breath, filling myself with his scent.

Before he could stop me I pushed him back onto the bed and straddled him with my hands on his shoulders. He didn't fight me off; his hands went to my hips and held me to him. I ran my fingers over his eyelids and down to his lips, lightly trailing their shape. He kissed my fingers, and then putting his hand over mine he opened my hand to kiss my palm.

"I always knew it would be you." He sighed into my hand.

"You always knew what about me?" I leaned in and kissed his lips, then his jaw. Moving my kisses to the little dips behind his ear.

"That you would be the death of me." James wrapped his arms around me and rolled so that he was on top, pinning my hands above my head.

I didn't struggle; this is what I wanted. We kissed roughly, our mouths fighting each other for control. Our clothes came off and our naked bodies pressed together in a perfect fit. James kissed my chest, taking my breast into his mouth and biting lightly on my nipple. I moaned in pleasure, pressing my hips into his.

James let go of my hands and was moving even further down my body, leaving little bites every few inches. When he reached my already wet center, I could barely breath while his tongue moved in and out of me. He worked against my clit, almost bringing me over the edge before I knew what was happening.

"No James, not yet." I managed to stop him just in time; I wanted us to come together.

I rolled him onto his back and hesitantly made my way down to him, I had never done anything like this before and I wanted it to be good. I gave up on thinking and let my instincts take over, taking him completely into my mouth. My tongue worked up and down the soft skin of his shaft as he moved his hips just slightly. He moaned my name and worked his hand into my hair, holding it tightly. When he was soaking wet I sat up and slipped him inside of me without any fear of this being wrong.

James ran his hands up and down my back as I lifted up to the very tip and dropped myself back down quickly, taking every inch of him. His hands were all over me, roughly kneading my breasts, and then moving to rub my clit as I worked against him faster and faster. We were close now; our moans and gasps filled the tiny room. Just as I finally let go and covered James in my orgasm he released into me. I collapsed on top of him, letting our hearts beat against each other. I worked my arms under him, holding on for dear life.

"Please don't go." I placed my lips against his neck as I begged. I only belonged where he was, if he left I would never be right.

"Bella…" I counted his heartbeats while he paused between words, five beats.

"I have to." He let me cry against him for a long time, just running his hands through my hair and trailing his fingers down my back, sometimes just squeezing me tightly against him.

Once my sobs were quiet he sat us both up and got dressed. I watched him in despair, knowing nothing I said would make him change his mind. James sat down on the bed next to me brushed the hair away from my face.

"This isn't fair, I know." James smiled sadly at me. He kissed my cheek, still slightly bruised, one last time. Then he walked out of my room, leaving me more alone than I had ever felt in my entire life.

**To the people who have been reviewing all along, thank you so so much! Quickbunny01 (always! =D ) Romance4ever, rebelwilla, Bellawish2b, Justareader7883, UntilMyHeartStopsBeating, Chloe McMurray, xluvinvainx and rmcrms5 you guys are the best!! (Sorry if I forgot anyone =( )To everyone else... PLEASE review! Ok, I won't beg, maybe in the next chapter I will though. Things are gonna start getting gruesome though, maybe just a few more nice chappys then the blood is coming out. Let me know if anyone would rather it not be that way, I write for the people. ;D**


	12. Chapter 12

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_**  
**So this chapter is sort of filler, sorry... hope you like it anyway =) I know I said things were going to get better and it's going to! Just give me a few chapters to get to it lol **

**Chapter 12**

I tossed and turned all night, fighting off the gut wrenching sobs that kept threatening to take a hold of me. When I wasn't drowning in despair over James leaving I was freaking out over what to tell Edward. I had made up my mind to tell him the truth, I just wasn't sure how to say it. I never wanted to hurt him; things just sort of got out of control.

Morning came before I'd been able to figure things out, all I wanted to do was stay hidden under my blankets. I dragged my feet while getting ready for school, taking as long as possible. The bruises on my face had faded to disgusting greenish yellow, standing out brightly against my pale skin. Great, I thought sadly, I looked as horrible as I felt. I was just coming down the stairs when I heard a car pull into my driveway, it couldn't be I thought. I ran to the front door and when I opened it Edward was standing on my front porch.

"You never called to say you weren't coming to school, so I… just came. To see if you would like a ride." He looked like he wasn't exactly sure why he'd come, looking around the yard nervously waiting for my reply.

"Thank you." I was too surprised by his being here to say anything else.

We rode almost the entire way to school in silence. I couldn't bring myself to look at him. When we parked I reached for the door handle and stopped when I noticed Edward wasn't moving to get out of the car.

"Bella, what happened?" His voice was rough around the edges, not the usually soft velvet I was used to.

"Well, I just... went over to talk to James after your fight and." I thought he wanted to know how James and I happened, but he stopped me before I could finish.

"No, I mean- with us. Weren't you happy?" Edward finally looked at me; his eyes were wide and upset. Dark circles had formed under them- it was probably the worst he'd ever looked.

"Yes, I was. I just…" I sighed and covered my face in with my hands. How had I ruined things so badly? "It wasn't that you weren't great Edward, I don't know what it is. With James I just can't help myself, there is something about him that just pulls me to him. " I thought it'd be better to explain why I couldn't resist James than to tell Edward he wasn't who I wanted.

"Have you made up your mind then?"

"I think so." Truthfully, my mind had been made up for me. James had left, what else could I do.

"I'd rather tell you everything, and let you decide if you want to stay with me." It was all I could give Edward, if he denied me now, then that is what I deserve.

"Ok, if you really feel like you have to. But Bella, it doesn't matter to me. I know everyone makes mistakes. " I couldn't believe how understanding he was being, this was not what I'd expected from Edward.

His face was blank while I told him everything- the party, the beach, the fire, and even last night, everything except for the vampires. He only showed any sign of emotion when I told him that James had left. Maybe he'd heard how much it hurt me to say it.

I felt sorry for what I'd done only because I'd hurt Edward. I couldn't regret being with James. He is the one I was meant to be with, I believe that even if he doesn't feel the same way.

"I'm sorry Edward." He'd just been sitting there, quietly, for almost five minutes. He cleared his throat and looked out through the windshield.

"I believe that you are. I just need some time alone to think. I know I said it didn't matter to me, but I was wrong. What you did won't stop me from wanting to be with you, but it does change things." A lump formed in my throat, I'd hurt such a good person. I don't deserve him.

"Just one more thing… are we still going to prom together?" Edward gave me a half-hearted smile.

"If you still want to take me, I still want to go with you." I smiled back and got out of the car.

The day passed me by like a television show on in the background. I didn't hear what anyone was saying, and I barely noticed the sideways stares and whispers. I think I was partially in shock. It seemed strange to me that I wasn't more upset about one thing James had told me.

Vampires. They were supposed to be mythical creatures, strong and deadly but with weaknesses. He'd said they were different though, but how different? A cold dread had found its way into my stomach and stayed there, I felt more mortal than I'd ever felt in my life. It seemed like I might die at any second, a morbid paranoia was nagging at my brain. With every corner I took I expected to see the group of men, I mean vampires, from last night waiting for me. James had said they got to that girl at his party, Sherrie. What had they done to her? My father had said the attacks on the other girls had been brutal, so bad he wouldn't talk about the details.

When the last bell rang I walked out to the parking lot, expecting to have to walk home, but Edward was still waiting in his car. I paced nervously, not sure if I should bother him. It started to sprinkle lightly when he got out of the car.

"Bella, come on. I'll take you home." I wondered how long he had been watching me.

Edward dropped me off at home with an awkward good bye, promising to be back for me in the morning. I wandered around the house, worrying myself sick over James and Edward.

I was so scared about what might be happening to James. Where was he? Had the vampires found him? He made it sound like there was no way to hide from them, so why was he trying? I wish he would call to let me know he was safe, but I knew he wouldn't.

Every thought I had that wasn't about James was about Edward. I was worried about him; he had taken what I told him too well. What if tomorrow he realized what an awful person I am and changed his mind? Did I really want him to take me back? Part of me wished he would just yell and scream at me then never talk to me again. Having to fake having feelings for him just so I wouldn't hurt him anymore was difficult.

The next day was more of the same, Edward walking around like he was in a trance and me being almost sick with grief over James. Alice and Emmett gave me odd looks, I wasn't sure if Edward had told them anything so I just kept my mouth shut.

Alice and Rose broke the uncomfortable silence with talk about prom, making things seem almost normal. I didn't want to think about prom at all, I wasn't in the partying mood. It was coming though, in only a few hours actually. I was supposed to head to the Cullen's house right after school to get ready.

"Bella! What is your problem? Perk up already! Tonight is going to be great!" Rose poked me hard in the ribs. I forced a smile and asked some questions about how she was doing her hair and her dress without really hearing her replies.

Alice and Rose were deep in conversation about nails and hand bags so they thankfully ignored me on the way home. Something was giving me a bad feeling about tonight. I would rather just go home and hide. I knew Edward was counting on me though; tonight would be our chance to try and get back to normal. I snorted, normal, that was a joke. Nothing would be normal again.

"What's funny Bella?" Alice snapped be back to reality.

"Nothing, sorry." We were pulling up to her house now so I put on my happy face and faked my way through the preparations, trying to act as excited as Alice and Rose.

Now that we were all ready to go, and standing in the front yard of the Cullen's house taking pictures, a panic began to well up in my chest. I know something bad is coming, and people I love are going to be hurt. I don't understand how I knew; it was jus there in my heart. Tonight felt more like I was heading towards my funeral than to a dance.


	13. Chapter 13

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.  
_Ok, I am taking over SMeyer's vampire's now. They aren't exactly the way they were in the book. They are still strong and can go out in the sun and they still change with just one bite. But they aren't all crazy- think only of blood- for a whole year. They are more normal right after they change. You know... still want to drink lots of it, but they have some control. Ok, so anyway.. there are links on my profile if you want to see Bella's dress or James' car. Please review!!**

**Chapter 13**

We pulled up to the hotel where prom was being held just after eight o'clock, every student in the junior and senior classes were there. Edward and I followed our friends into the building and were met with stares from every direction. Alice had done a pretty good job at covering the last of my bruises, so they couldn't have been looking at that. I shifted uncomfortably and Edward chuckled under his breath.

"You look great Bella, people were bound to notice." I practically ran for the back of the room to get away from everyone.

Edward and I slow danced to a few songs, well, swayed in place is more like it. My lack of cooredination doesn't make for a good dance partner. Once we gave up on the we found our way to a bench just outside the doors surrounded by a small garden area. The night was cool and still, the calm before the storm I thought.

"Bella, can I be completely honest with you?" Uh oh, whenever someone starts a conversation that way it has to be bad.

"Yeah, sure…" I clenched my hands into fists and held my breath. This was it, Edward was going to rip my to pieces for being such a terrible person and cheating on him.

"I like you, a lot. You're a beautiful girl, and you're smart and fun to be with, but… I don't think you and I are meant to be with each other." I blinked once, then twice, had Edward just broke up with me? I almost laughed.

"I don't think we are either." Edward actually did smile now, he slipped an arm around me in a brotherly hug.

"Are you ok? I know you're a mess about James, you can't hide it." I leaned my head down on his shoulder and sighed.

"No, I'm not… " I wanted to finished, to tell Edward how scared I was. He would think I'd gone completely mad if I told him vampires were after James and they might come for me too.

"He's an idiot Bella. I don't know how he could just use you like that then take off. I'm sorry you got sucked into his games." Edward gave me a reassuring squeeze, it was sort of embarrassing for me to be sitting there like that. With Edward thinking James had screwed me and ditched me.

A group of people had gathered outside the door behind us, apparently not seeing us sitting on the bench behind the bushes. They were talking in hushed voices, but I recognized them immediately. It was Chase and the rest of his and James' friends.

"Hey man, how long are you gonna stay at this lame ass dance?" One of the guys was speaking now, I wasn't exactly sure which one.

"Not long, I'm just waiting for James to call me and tell me what's up for tonight. He's been acting so fucking weird though, I think he's in too deep with those freaks he's been working for." I knew that was Chase, my blood ran cold when he said James name. It couldn't be true, he was going to see James tonight?

"Let's take off, we can chill at my house until he calls." They were filing away now, their voices growing distant.

A sick turning had begun in my stomach and another feeling was making a home in my heart. Betrayal, Edward had been right all along. James was a liar and he'd used me. How could I have been so stupid? Vampires? What the hell was I thinking? I knew there was no such thing, but I'd let myself be fooled by a con artist. James was a criminal and a jerk.

"Bella, are you alright?" Edward was holding my hand and watching me carefully. It occurred to me that he'd heard everything too.

"Oh God Edward, I'm a moron." I buried my face in his shoulder.

Edward let me stay there, hiding for the world for a long time. When finally anger took its rightful place in my mind.

"That bastard! How could he do something like that? He'd been so convincing! Edward, he told me he had to leave because vampires were after him and he was scared they would hurt me too! I mean, the guys I saw were really scary and there was something weird about them… but vampires!" I was standing now, ready to throw a punch at someone.

"What do you want to do Bella?"

"I want to yell at him! I want him to know I don't care about him, or what happens to him. AAgghh, I want to kill him!" Rage was controlling me now. If I were being rational I would have chose to move on, forget James and everything he'd done, but right now all the emotion and stress from the week were fueling my anger.

"Will you take me to his house Edward? Right now, I have to see him and finish this." Edward nodded and took my hand.

We walked around the outside of the hotel to the parking lot. Thankfully we had come alone in Edward's father's car and could just leave. The entire way to James' house I thought of the things I wanted to say. Some of them were childish, telling him I hadn't enjoyed being with him, that he was a horrible lover. Some of them sad, begging him to tell me it wasn't true and that he loved me too. Then I thought of threatening him, telling him I was going to go to the police with what I knew.

In the end I just wanted to tell him how I felt. That I'd believed him and he fooled me, but that I knew better now and I didn't care. He would never hurt me again. When we pulled into the parking lot at the garage I felt strong, like I could take on anything. I'd never really been through anything as emotionally trying as this, and I wanted to make it through with my head up.

I stormed towards the building almost as soon as Edward had parked the car, he walked behind me, giving me my space but staying close enough that if I needed him he'd be there. There weren't a group of people like I'd expected, only a small gathering of cars towards the front of the building.

The roll up doors weren't open so I had to go through the small area on the side of the building where customers paid for their services. It seemed odd to me that I couldn't hear anyone in the bays talking, but I was sure there were people inside, I could see their shadows. Anger propelled me forward, steeling myself against what would come next.

I burst into the open room ready to yell. My eyes moved across the empty bays looking for James, when I found him I almost fell over backwards. He was standing against the back wall of the room, and thin form held up against him. At first I'd thought he was kissing the women's neck from the way he was holding her. It looked like a intimate embrace, he had one arm around her waist supporting her, and the other wound into her hair, holding her head back. Then I saw the blood dribbling down from his mouth.

Her face was pale and frozen in a look of horror, her mouth open in a silent scream. Her eyes were open wide, but the were unseeing. All the men that had been there the other night were sitting at the card tables talking, bodies had been piled up in corners like old blankets. The smell was horrific, I don't know how I didn't notice it from outside. One face stood out from the rest. Handsome and warn, an exact replica of James' face just older, it was Mr. Camden. His own father, he had killed his dad. Absolute fear froze me in place.

All of this happened in a matter of seconds, I thought no one had noticed me enter, but they were all staring at me. My mind left my body for a moment, seeing me standing in the greasy garage all decked out for prom in my white gown and satin shoes. It had been ridiculous of me to think I could come here and say anything to James and have him take me seriously.

I backed up, taking a few careful steps away from what was happening in front of me. James dropped the women carelessly and moved forward, his eyes focused on me. His beautiful eyes, they had been such a glorious color of blue, always changing and rolling like clouds. Now they were bright red and frightening. His mouth curled into a snarl, I could still see some of the blood on his teeth.

"Bella, run." His voice sounded different too, smooth and deadly, like the edge of a blade.

My feet refused to move though. I just stayed right where I was, waiting for him to reach me. My James, the only one I had ever truly loved, was now stalking forward to kill me. The other men were standing now too, they moved silently, like graceful animals crouching for the kill. A hand closed around my arm and yanked me backwards, Edward was pulling me towards the door.

"Go! Bella Go!" He was pushing me in front of him. I was finally able to move and we both took off running towards the car.

I glanced back for just one moment to see James standing in front of the three other vampires, holding them off for Edward and I. My heels made horrible clicking noises against the asphalt and were trying to knock me off balance, but I made it to the car without falling. I was yanking on the door handle and banging on the car, like it might willing unlock itself for me. But it wouldn't budge and Edward had the keys.

Where was Edward? He had been right behind me when I ran out of the building, but now I couldn't see him anywhere. A horrible scream came from the empty garage now, echoing in the trees.

"Edward." My voice was low at first, shaking with fear. "Edward! EDWARD!!" I was screaming hysterically now. This wasn't happening to me.

I kicked off my heels and ran across the parking lot to the house where James' car was parked. My feet were shredded by the hard rocks but I didn't slow down for a second. The door to his car was unlocked and I threw myself inside. I checked the ignition for keys, it was empty and now I was trapped. I locked the doors and huddled down on the floor, praying no one had seen me. Only seconds later there was a banging on the driver side door.

"Bella! Open the door!" James was standing outside, something bulky in his arms.

"Now! Open it now!" His voice was commanding, but my eyes were locked on his, the blood red color filling my world. I shook my head no, I wouldn't just let him in to kill me. He would have to fight for it. With one swift movement he smashed the window, glass blew through the car like glitter. I screamed and began throwing my fists through the air, I knew it probably wouldn't help, but I couldn't stop myself.

"Bella… stop, you're just making things difficult." James loomed over me, his tan skin was now pale and cold. In the weak moonlight he looked like an angel, an angel of death.


	14. Chapter 14

**_The Twilight Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_  
Thank you everyone for the great reviews.. and yes, I had to do the white dress XD lol.. couldn't help it. It worked though right! Anyway, I hope everyone likes what's coming. Let me know =)**

**Chapter 14**

James reached through the open window and unlocked the door. He opened it and tossed the limp pile of clothes he had been holding into the backseat. Clothes? I blinked a few times trying to get my eyes to adjust. It was Edward- his body crumpled into an unnatural position on the seat. James was leaned into the car and I began screaming and thrashed around wildly, trying desperately to keep him away from me.

"Bella! Calm down!" He growled lowly. I heard the words he was saying, but I couldn't get their meaning to compute in my brain. The instinct to survive had taken over. All I cared about was staying alive. My efforts were wasted; every hit I landed was like punching a rock.

He got into the car and started it while I scrambled to get the passenger door open. He took off into the night just as I'd popped the lock. We took a hard left turn and all my weight shifted against the door making it fly open, taking me with it. Panic gripped my senses, the howling wind in my ears, the smell of exhaust coming from beneath the car, and the black pavement speeding past only inches from my face. Luckily my hand was still on the handle, all I could do was lock my arms against the door and try to hold myself up to stop my face from getting a up close and personal introduction with the street below us.

Wind blew my hair into my face, making it impossible for me to see anything. I screamed and pushed against the door, trying to get back inside the car. I felt an ice-cold arm slip under my waist and pull me back towards the safety of the car. James reached across me and slammed the door, without ever slowing down.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to kill yourself?" James was yelling at me, all I could do was stare at him, stunned by what had just happened. It didn't take me long to recover.

"What's wrong with me?" I laughed hysterically. " What's wrong with _you_? You- you're… dead!" James looked at me and smiled secretly.

"Yeah, I am." He pressed on the accelerator and practically flew through the trees.

"And you killed Edward!" I gestured towards the backseat.

"No I didn't. Well… not yet." He shrugged carelessly, like Edward's life didn't mean anything.

"James! Stop playing games with me! What is going on?" Too much was happening and my brain was threatening to shut down if I didn't get answers soon. Frustration, fear, and sadness were making me dizzy. Tears welled in the corners of my eyes. James was supposed to be gone, but here he was, sitting next to me. Even though his heart wasn't beating. Edward, sweet understanding Edward, was dying. Or possibly already dead from what it looked like, in the back of the car and I was still in the prom dress he had bought me.

" There's nothing anyone can do to help him now, soon his heart will stop. When he wakes up, he'll be like me." James' voice was cold and unfeeling. I looked from Edward, to James and then out into the night sky. I could see stars peaking out from behind the clouds, shining brightly and then disappearing behind a dark cloud. My mind was trying to grasp that the world I lived in was no longer familiar me.

"You lied to me."

"To try and keep you safe! If you hadn't shown up, again, when you weren't supposed to… then everything would have been fine! Why can't you stay the fuck away?" The cruelty in his voice cut straight through to my heart. So it was true, he'd wanted me to leave him alone because he didn't want me, not because he was worried about me.

"I planned on becoming a vampire before you and I were… anything. I never expected what happened with us, and it was too late for me to change my mind about being a vampire. I already had it set up with Victor. If I backed out he would have just killed me. I thought the best way to keep you away was to tell you I was leaving. I thought you'd be so mad at me that you would run back to Edward." James was watching me while he talked.

"Edward and I broke up… and it wasn't because of you! We both areed that we aren't right for each other, but he was much more of a man about it than you were. He told me the truth to my face." I spit the words at him, hoping to hurt him at least a little. He was not at all what I had thought him to be. The James I thought I knew wouldn't have had to lie to me. If he'd just told me the truth I would have done what he had asked me to. At least I think I would have…

"I hate you." Every ounce of anger I had came out with those words. For the moment, they were true.

"Good, you should. Why the hell do you keep chasing down someone you hate then! You've ruined everything Bella!" Tears slipped down my cheeks, I wanted to get out of the car.

"Stop! Let me out! If you want me to leave you alone so badly then I will. Stop now!" I banged against the dashboard and screamed loudly.

James closed one amazingly strong hand around my left wrist and pulled it up painfully against the seat.

"Shut up. You're not going anywhere now." I struggled against his hold but it was useless. It was like being shackled to the seat.

"My orders are to kill you." My blood ran like ice water in my veins. So this was why we were heading further into the mountains. Things were finally coming to an end.

"Don't worry Bella. I'm not going to hurt you… and no one else will either." There was a steal truth to his words. Even though he still looked and sounded angry, I relaxed. He let go of my arm and I could see a round purple bruise already formed on my wrist.

"I'm sorry Bella. For everything." He sounded upset now. He didn't like hurting me. That brought me some comfort in this cold night. James took a quick turn onto a tiny dirt road.

"Where are we going?" I asked absently. If I hadn't been so exhausted I would have cared more, but right now our destination wasn't a big concern for me.

"Somewhere we can stay out of view for awhile. People are going to be looking for you... and Victor and the rest of the guys will be looking for me." My heart speed up and chills moved across my skin. I had a feeling that if those other vampires found us, my death wouldn't be easy.

It was much darker out now, the clouds had move in closer and none of the stars were peaking out anymore. I could barely see anything outside the car and I was freezing. My skin had a bluish purple color and my hands were numb. I blinked against the blur in my eyes, trying to figure out where we were.

"Sorry it's so cold, the heater is broken." James handed me Edward's, it wasn't helping much.

"Where are we?" I could see a cluster of small wooden buildings up ahead, illuminated by the headlights. They looked like they were made out of oversized Lincoln logs.

"A summer camp, well… it used to be anyway." We parked behind one of the cabins and James broke the lock to let us in. Actually he just crushed the entire metal handle with just a slight squeeze of his hand. I began keeping my distance after watching that.

He carried Edward in and put him down on a dusty old cot in the corner. Sometime during the drive up Edward had started moaning in pain, James said it was his body dying. I walked over to Edward and kneeled down by his face. He was covered in sweat and shivering violently, I pushed the hair back off his face and whispered his name.

"He can't hear you, not now." I looked back at James in concern. "It's the change, it's so painful all your senses go numb. It's just going to get worse too. But when he wakes up, the world will be a different place." He studied Edward's face thoughtfully.

"Why did you do this James?"

"If I didn't they would have torn him to pieces. I was barely able to drag him out of there without them forcing me to drain him right then and there. They wanted him dead." James was angry again; his temper seemed much shorter now that he was a vampire.

"I meant, why did _you_ want to be a vampire?" This calmed him down. He sat on the cot across from Edward and thought about what he was going to say.

'My life was hell Bella. Do you know… the only reason my mom didn't take me with her when she left was because she was scared of my dad? She knew if she took off on her own he wouldn't do anything, but if she took me he'd come after her. And instead of just letting me do my own thing he was always giving me shit about being a pussy because 'I care too much about other people'. He never just let me be a kid- it was al about how to break in somewhere, how to run a con, or how to hurt someone. I ran away so many times and every time he'd either find me or I'd have to come home 'cause I didn't have anywhere else to go. Then he'd beat the shit out of me and send me on some errand for him." James put his head in his hands.

"I got him in the end though, you should have seen that asshole's face when I told him his time was up." James face was twisted in a cruel smile. I wanted to reach out and take his hand, but I was still too scared of him.

"When Victor, Jonah and Elias showed up I knew there was something different about them. How could I not notice you know? You have to be a complete idiot like my dad to not see that they aren't human. Once I figured out what they are I got them to agree to change me if I proved to them I could be useful. The world isn't a good place Bella, I just chose the winning side." He looked at me harshly now, daring me to look him in the eyes, to face what he's become. I looked right back, maybe he could hurt me, even kill me, but he couldn't change my own belief's.

"That's not true James. I know you're not evil. You never were, I know it in my heart." James was always making my head spin, one second I hated him, the next I loved him. It was exhausting.

This time I fought against the fear and slipped my hand into his. The coldness of his skin was still startling, but I held on tightly. I wouldn't let him go again, not for anything. He looked at our hands back together, a small smile playing at the edge of his lips.

"You are the craziest girl I have ever met, you know that?"

"Only crazy for one thing." I scooted closer to him, so that I was still kneeling on the ground between his legs.

"You and I were never right for each other. This won't work Bella. I am too wild, I might hurt you." I reached up and place my hand on the back of his neck, pulling his face down to mine.

"You already have." I placed my lips against his with a rush of emotions.

Our lips met in a clash of hot and cold, I closed my eyes and gave in to the darkness. If that's where James was, then that is where I would go. He pulled me up into his arms, holding me tight to his body. Even though he was colder and harder than marble, something warm was building inside me. Edward's jacket fell of my shoulders, exposing the bare skin of my neck. I heard James take a deep breath in and when I opened my eyes his were fixed on the blue pulsing vein that ran down my neck.

"Sorry, I just… can't help it. I keep imagining what it would be like to taste your blood, to feel my teeth cut through your soft skin…" He ran one icy finger down my neck.

"James!" I yelled at him, snapping out of his trance before a feeding frenzy started. His eyes went wide and he shook his head.

"This is why I didn't want to be around you." He moved to get up but I held on tight. He stood up with me still clinging to him.

"I won't let you leave me, not now. If you want to bite me… then you can." I pressed my lips to his a disappeared into him.

Deep inside I was already giving myself to him. If he wanted to drink my blood, I would let him. I'd die to make him happy. James was kissing me harder then I could have imagined possible, and squeezing me to him painfully. If he squeezed any tighter we would become one person.

"No, I won't hurt you Bella. This isn't a existence that you should have to endure. You're too good." He was pulling away again, putting space between us. I was about to protest when a scream split through the small room.

"Make it stop! Kill me! Kill me!" Edward's moans had gotten increasingly louder and now he was thrashing wildly, clawing at his own flesh.

"It might not be a good idea for you to be here for this." James had put himself between Edward and I, keeping me out of Edward's reach.

"No, I'm not leaving him like this." It was my fault this had happened to him, I wouldn't leave him to die alone. James frowned and moved the tiny bed we had been about to lay on as far away from Edward as he could.

"You sleep over here then." James picked me up and sat me on the bed. He walked back over to Edward and sat on the floor next to him.

"What about you? What will happen when the sun comes up? Don't you need to sleep?" I lay down wearily, every part of my body hurt. James laughed ran a hand through his hair.

"Bella, I told you… not normal vampires."

"Oh, right… cause normal vampires sleep or something." I muttered sarcastically. I curled up under Edward's jacket and tried to fall asleep through the shivers and Edward's screams. Tonight had been the best and the worst thing that had ever happened to me.


	15. Chapter 15

**_The Twilight Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_  
Sorry I lagged on posting.. and I know I said it was gonna get gorey but the story changed paths and it will come later =) Please review!! I promise, the more love I feel the more I will write!! OR even if you think this sucks and want to tell me I will not get angry. (Maybe just a little.. lol) And in response to some questioning about my tossing out the new born blood lust I have added in my own version. Hope everyone likes it! Thanks even if you just read. I appreciate it! **

**Chapter 15**

I slept late the next morning, the extreme exhaustion from living through this past week's events finally catching up to me. James was still sitting close to Edward, watching as he panted and cried in agony. Edward's screams had become a constant noise in the small cabin. James looked at me from across the room. His eyes were a darker today, black around the edges.

"How long will this last?" I whispered, looking at Edward.

"Just a few more hours. The venom has made its way through his body now. Soon his heart will stop and he'll wake up." He said all these things so matter of fact, like he was talking about a medical procedure.

I ran a hand through my hair; it was sticky and knotted from the hair spray Alice had used last night. Prom seemed a million miles away. It felt so silly to think that anyone could ever be worked up over a dumb little dance when there were so many bigger things going on in the world. People were dying, families were being torn apart, mythical creatures were roaming the Earth and killing innocent people. I wanted to go back in time, to when I didn't know these things.

Edward's jacket slid off of my shoulder where I'd had it and revealed my tattered and dirty dress. It had been so beautiful, now it looked like I had worn it in battle. It was covered in mud and black marks from the asphalt I'd run across last night. My feet weren't much cleaner. I was in desperate need of a shower. When I looked up James was staring at my neck again, a look of longing on his face. I cleared my throat, not wanting to seem upset about it. James recovered quickly but seemed angry.

"There are showers, but I doubt there's any hot water." James avoided looking at me anymore but I was surprised he knew what I had been thinking.

"Where are they?"

"I'll take you." James practically floated when he stood up, he moved so quickly I could barely keep up.

"What about Edward?" I looked over at his face. It was all contorted and pale from the pain. His screams had subsided into moans again thankfully.

"He will be fine. If he wakes up before we get back he'll be too disoriented to go anywhere. I think he's going to be out for a few more hours though."

I followed James to a brick building a few yards away. It had one large room with showerheads placed every few feet around one huge drain in the center. At first I changed my mind, there was no way I was showering here. But another look at my own dirty feet and the sticky feeling all over my body gave me the strength to just get it over with.

"I'll be done in a second." I looked at James, expecting him to wait outside.

"I'm not going anywhere. You don't know just how stealthy a vampire can be Bella. Victor and the guys can be outside right now. I didn't hear anything, but you never know." He smiled innocently.

"Right, I think I'll survive for ninety seconds James." I rolled my eyes and tip toed towards the showers. This was not how I wanted him to see me, even though he looked amazing to me right now, I wanted some privacy.

"Have it your way. I'll be right outside if you need help washing your back." His voice trailed away as he walked outside, leaving me alone in the big empty room.

I stripped the destroyed dress off quickly. Large spiderwebs hung overhead like indoor clouds. A huge fat spider scurried off into the corner when I reached the first shower head. My skin crawled with the thought of tiny legs running all over my body. After giving myself a quick pep talk I turned the knob and jumped under the spray of water. The sudden freezing cold water took my breath away. I had to force my arms to move quickly, rinsing the hair spray and dirt away. I had no soap and no towel, so I gave up quickly and turned off the water. It made a vulgar gurgling sound as it ran down the drain, leaving the room silent except for a constant dripping once it was gone.

My feet made little splashing noises that echoed off the bricks as I walked over to my clothes. Someone had taken the dress and left Edward's shirt and shoes in its place. I wasn't sure if I should thank James or be angry. After I finished buttoning the shirt and pulled on my underwear I was irritated. The shirt barely reached my thighs, but it was all I had now. The thin material clung to my wet skin in an uncomfortably revealing way. I slipped my feet into Edward's shoes and had to shuffle out of the room to keep them from falling off.

James wasn't outside waiting like I had expected. I looked all over the little area but couldn't find any sign of him. A light wind was picking up and dried leaves scuttled and crashed into the buildings. I was still shivering from my cold shower and the wind made my wet hair feel even colder, so I ran the best I could in the large shoes to the cabin we'd stayed in. It was dark inside and the light from the open door made harsh shadows in the small room so I slammed it shut as fast as I could to find that it too was empty.

No James, no Edward; a strange thought was twisting it's way through my mind, but I pushed it away. I wouldn't let myself be spooked by an empty room; I needed to think. Where could they have gone? James said Edward wouldn't have been coherent for a few more hours. Did James move him? I sat on the cot for a second to think. The odd feeing was growing, the thought in my mind screaming to be acknowledged. When I finally gave up and let myself be scared the thought broke through like an alarm sounding in my head.

It was telling me to run, that I wasn't alone and that I was in serious danger. Without waiting another second I bolted for the door. I was met by a howling wind and dirt being blown into my eyes. I struggled against the elements to try and find shelter from whatever was after me. James' was nowhere to be seen; he'd left me to fend for myself. Hadn't he warned me in the showers that vampires could be hiding anywhere? Terror gripped me as I considered the possibility that the other vampires had shown up and killed James. I could feel eyes on my back, someone was right behind me.

I whirled around with my hands up to defend myself to find a golden haired god looming over me. Edward's eyes had changed, from frosty blue to a glowing red. He was standing shirtless and pale in the wild winds, crouched low for the attack. His mouth was drawn back in a snarl and his hands hooked into claws at his sides.

My mouth formed the words I wanted to say, but nothing came out. I stepped backwards, trying to get away from him, but I tripped over the shoes that were way too big for my feet. Edward stepped over me, hunger shining brightly in his eyes. I didn't see him move; I sensed it. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact but it never came.

When enough time had passed that I was sure the blow wasn't coming I opened my eyes. James and Edward were on the ground a few yards away, fighting against one another. James was on top of Edward, one hand pinning him to the ground, the other repeatedly punching him in the face. Once Edward seemed too stunned to move James ran to my side and scooped me up in his arms.

"I have to get you out of here." For the first time James seemed upset. His usual calm attitude was missing, replaced by fear.

"Why is he coming after _me_?" James was running for his car at lightening speed, carrying me with him.

"He doesn't know who you are. It takes a few hours to remember everything, and his only instinct right now is too feed." He had practically tossed me into the passenger seat and was starting the car.

"You said he would still be out for a few more hours!" A full panic was taking over me now. Edward would be so upset later if he killed me now.

James yanked the wheel hard and spun the car to face the exit. The tires spun and we lurched forward when something heavy landed on the roof. I screamed in surprise.

"Shit!" James yelled and began swerving back and forth trying to shake Edward off the car. My heart was pounding in my ears almost as loud as Edward's fists on the roof.

A pale blur outside my window caught my attention just before it smashed to pieces. With both front windows gone the car was a tornado of wind while we speed down the mountain. I shrieked and tried to scramble towards James as Edward reached inside, his hand grabbing blindly at me.

"Take the wheel!"

"What?" James was lifting himself on the window ledge already; I had no choice but to grab the steering wheel and slip into the drives seat.

Just as my foot took over on the gas pedal James disappeared out the window. There was an ear piercing screech of metal and a loud thud; a large cloud of dust appeared in the rear view mirror. James had pulled them off of the car and they were growing smaller as I drove away. After a few miles I slowed down and pulled off the side of the road behind a cluster of trees.

I wasn't sure where to go. The car was a mess, once I got out I could see a series of huge dents that started on the roof and trailed down the rear end. All I had on was Edward's dress shirt and a pair of underwear; I was stuck. There weren't many options, I considered going home but there would be too many questions to which I couldn't answer. Not that anyone would believe me if I told them the truth. The other was to go back and find James, but I was too frightened of Edward at the moment. Hopefully James would come to find me, so I decided to stay put.

The chill in the air was growing by the second so I got back in the car and huddled against the leather seat. There wasn't much protection from the wind with both windows being broken; it was impossible to get warm. I closed my eyes and put my head down against my knees. All I wanted was to go home, and for things to go back to normal.

I thought of the first day of school when James had stopped me in the hall. If I had just kissed him, if Edward hadn't come around the corner at that moment, maybe things would have been different. I would have shown James that things could be different. He would see that there were was someone who would love him no matter what. I promised myself at that moment that I could still do it. It didn't matter that James was part of the living dead and lusted for my blood, I still loved him and I wouldn't leave him.

My mind was still deep in thoughts of James and I when the door was ripped off the car. It felt like the wind was sucking me out through the gaping hole. I clawed at the seat trying to hold on. An unnaturally strong force was pulling me out. My screams were lost in the wind and I kicked against my assailant but it was no use. Something hard hit the back of my head and a bright light took over my vision. As it started to fade I searched for a face, trying to find my attacker. But darkness was overtaking me now, pulling me under until there was nothing.

**=) Hope you liked the spiders Manda!!**


	16. Chapter 16

**_The Twilight Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer  
xluvinvainx- Good question.. some of the vampires do have powers, but you'll just have to wait and see what they are =) _**

Chapter 16

My body was slowing becoming aware of its surroundings. I could feel the hard cool floor beneath me, I could hear the distant hum of loud music and I could feel a dull stabbing pain growing steadily sharper in the back of my head. Every part of me protested when I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes partially. There were long fluorescent lights glaring harshly at me from the ceiling, I squinted against them, trying to identify the room I was in.

It was small with tan brick walls and metal shelves lining the back wall. There were boxes of random cleaning supplies and things you would find in a restaurant. I rubbed the back of my head and stood up carefully, my legs shook so much I was sure I would fall back to the floor at any second. I made my way to the large metal door and tried to open it, already knowing it would be locked. Why would someone take the time to put me in here if they didn't mean for me to stay?

I pressed my ear against the door trying to hear something; all I could make out was the constant drumming of some kind of dance music. The pain in my skull was getting worse every second so I leaned against the wall for support. How long had I been in here? My stomach growled and gurgled painfully, it must have been at least twenty-four hours since the last time I had eaten.

Nothing about the past day seemed real. I slid down the wall to sit; a sudden wave of nausea had made me light headed. Who was keeping me here and why? The last thing I could remember was driving away from James and Edward as they fought each other in the middle of the road. My stomach turned again with worry, were James and Edward all right?

The pain in my head had overtaken me at some point, pulling me back into the darkness and drowning me in a peaceful sleep where I didn't have to think about anything. I don't know how long I'd been asleep when the metal door creaked open. Accented voices were buzzing around me like insects, I wanted to bat them away so I could go back to sleep when a familiar voice caught my attention.

"He'll be ready soon. He's still out hunting. " I caught the tail end of their conversation. James was here with the other vampires. My initial reaction was to jump up and run to him, he would protect me. My second thought was to stay still and listen.

I didn't have long to figure out what was happening. Someone was lifting me and taking me out of the storage room. I chanced a peak at who was holding me;Thankfully it was James. He cradled me carefully against his chest and I pressed my face against his cold skin. I wish I knew why were following the vampires he'd seemed so anxious to get away from last night.

We made many turns and the lights grew brighter then dim again on my eyelids. The pulsing dance music was so loud that I couldn't hear anything else for a while, and finally we had come to our destination.

A door clicked closed somewhere behind me and the vampires continued talking quietly. I'd had a difficult time following the conversation as we walked to wherever we were now, but it was quiet enough in the new place to here them clearly.

"James, you had us worried! We thought you'd taken off on us!" The vampire was joking, with a sense of seriousness just below the surface.

"No, no, I was going to come back. I just wasn't sure how you would feel about me turning my buddy back there. I took Bella here so he'd have something to eat when he woke up but... she proved to have other uses." There was a flurry of obscene laughter and a cold sweat started between my shoulder blades. James didn't sound like himself.

"You know, she's only good for one hit. These fragile human girls can't handle it you know!" This voice was younger and not as heavily accented, but still had to velvety flow like the other vampires. All three of them were here with James.

"What a way to go though! Death by fucking!" I felt James' arms tighten around me, but he laughed at the joke with them.

The door opened and closed but it didn't seem like anyone had left. I was desperately trying to keep my eyes closed, not knowing exactly who was with us or where we were was driving me crazy.

"Hello, you're Edward then?" My heartbeat picked up at the mention of Edward's name. What the hell was going on?

"Yes, uh… sorry about earlier. I wasn't thinking straight." Edward sounded uncomfortable. There was more laughter in the room. Everyone was in high spirits apparently.

"It's ok, we've all been through it! Those first few hours can be quiet a mess. James tells us you got yourself an entire family out there!" James shifted me in his arms, like he was trying to shield me from the conversation. Did he know I was awake?

"Yeah… I guess I did." Edward sounded very unhappy now. Was I hearing things right? Edward had killed an entire family?

"So, is she…?" Edward was talking again, but he let his words fall flat before finishing his sentence.

"No, she's alive. Just waking up I think." James jostled me a little and my eyes fluttered open at the attention. His face was very close, those red eyes penetrating mine. He was trying to tell me something without saying it, but I was lost.

"Hey there… " He whispered. Tears made their way into my eyes, he sounded sad. His words had the hint of a apology. This was not going to turn out well.

"Elias, bring in the girls!" Victor smacked James on the back and gave me a once over. James reflexively held me closer.

I looked around now, we were in a large office with no windows. Edward was staring at me with his red eyes wide with worry. He looked different to me. Something in his eyes was different, and it wasn't just the color. He reminded me of someone who had been away from humans for too long, living in the wild.

The younger vampire, Elias, left the room while Victor sat behind a huge mahogany desk. There was a plush leather couch pressed up against the wall that James sat on, keeping me firmly in his lap. Edward and a blond vampire leaned against the wall while they waited.

"Whatever you do, don't make any sudden moves ok? I promise whatever happens I won't hurt you. You have to trust me." James said the words in my ear so quietly I almost didn't hear them.

Terror turned my body to ice; James sounded scared, which meant I should be. The door opened and Elias came back in, followed by a group of young girls dressed like they were ready for a party. They were all laughing and slurring slightly, I could smell alcohol in the air.

"Hello ladies, are you having a good time tonight? Have you enjoyed my club?" Victor looked more evil than I could ever imagine in the shadowy room.

He had gotten up from the desk and walked over to the cluster of girls, there were six in all. I bet they had all met up together at one house earlier in the night, spending hours getting ready and talking about how much fun they would have. Im sure they'd been thinking about possibly meeting a guy, but never someone like the men in front of them. Edward watched hungrily as Victor brushed his hand through the red hair of a young girl standing in the front, pushing it back behind her shoulders. She was a tiny little girl, with small features and light freckles on every visible part of her body. On any other night she was probably used to getting attention, she was very pretty, they all were. Tonight their good looks had put them in the spotlight in the wrong place and the wrong time. She stared up into Victor's eyes like she was hypnotized, still giggling slightly. They had all stopped laughing and were now shifting uncomfortably. James slid me off his lap and onto the couch, joining the other vampires to stand close to the group of girls.

"Keep your eyes closed." He had instructed me as he got up. I tried to follow his orders, but morbid curiosity got the best of me.

Through half opened eyes I watched in horror as the group of girls realized that they had gotten themselves into something they would never return from. I could feel the panic in the air as their eyes went wide with fright. All the vampires in the room had made a circle around them, closing in for the kill. I wondered if they were looking into the red eyes around them, knowing it would be the last thing they ever saw. One of the girls closest to the door, a tall brunette in a short skirt, jerked like she was going to make a run for it. The blond vampire had shot out one long arm and closed his hand around her neck before she could take a step.

For a second her eyes looked like they might pop right out of her head. There was a sickening groan in her chest and her face turned bright red, then purple. I heard a muffled snap and her eyes glossed over instantly. He let go and her head tipped to the side at an impossible angle before her body collapsed into his arms. He growled and sunk his teeth viciously into her neck, sending a spray of blood across the rest of the girls.

Screams erupted in the room like breaking glass. Pandemonium had ensued with all the girls fighting against their attackers. Edward was unrecognizable as he pinned one into a corner, his lips pulled into a cruel smile. He tore the flesh from her neck with his teeth, blood gushed down his jaw and chest like someone had poured red paint on him. When he finished there were only shredded bits of skin and flesh left, the small white bones of her spine peaking through in the pink meat. He let her body crumple to the floor and looked around for his next victim.

My own screams were the only sound left in the room except for the hungry sucking noises. I tried to find something else to look at, anything other than the horrible scene in front of me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my eyes to close. They locked on James as he pulled a small girl in too tight jeans and a blue tube top close. She had been crying and clawing at his face in a weak attempt to fight him off. James held her arms at her side and pressed his mouth to the soft part of her neck just above her collarbone.

His eyes found mine and I could see the pain there, and the hunger. He sucked frantically, draining every ounce of blood from her body. Unlike the other vampires he had not ravaged her in a violent attack, but gently bit into her skin too take her life quickly. I could see it in her eyes when she was gone. It's a strange thing to look at someone and know its empty of life. None of the dead girls looked like they were sleeping, their eyes stared blankly into nothing, and their mouths hung open in a unflattering way. Every muscle in their bodies had gone limp. I never knew just how much a human body could bend without the resistance of a flexed muscle.

Shock wrapped around me in a tight safety net, sucking my mind away from what was happening. I retreated to the day on the beach, when James and I had playfully splashed at each other and made love on the warm sand. I refused to register the blood and bodies in front of me. When James returned to my side he slipped an arm around me and pulled me back into his lap, rocking me gently. Making soft shushing noises in a vague effort to comfort me.

"Bella? Bella are you ok?" He was speaking quickly, the words hushed.

James was watching the other men, he didn't want them to know he was concerned for me. The way he was holding me was strange, not how you would touch someone if you wanted to calm them down. It was more sensual then I though appropriate for the moment.

Once the other vampires had finished draining the bodies in front of them they were finding places to sit and enjoy their blood filled stupor. James had nuzzled his face against my neck, kissing and sucking at it lightly. His hand was squeezing the inside of my thigh and then slowly working it's way up under my shirt. I was overly aware of the eyes on us now, and my lack of clothing. Each of them watched dazedly, visibly aroused. Whether from the killing or watching James molest me I wasn't sure.

What was James thinking? This was not the time or the place for this. I was ready to puke out the acid that was boiling in my stomach after what I had just seen. I squirmed against him and tried to push his hand off my stomach.

"No! James stop it." I sounded more frightened then I had meant to.

There was a collected intake of breath from around the room and the other vampires were practically leaning forward in their seats. All except Edward, who was staring at the body of the girl he'd just savagely ripped to pieces. Victor made a soft clicking noise in the back of his throat, the way you would when a child misbehaved.

"Bella, don't fight please. If they don't think your here for a reason then you'll end up like one of those girls." James spoke while kissing my jaw, then moved back down to neck.

James had been trying to convince me that this was for my own good. I knew he had a reason for what he was doing, but I couldn't get my mind to make my body cooperate. My hands balled into fists and landed punches against his chest and jaw, but it didn't stop him. He was above me now, pulling my hips up against his. He looked excited, not worried about my safety.

"Hey, if she survives I want a turn." The blond vampire was watching intently.

"Fuck off Jonah." James growled in response.

My mind was whirling. I thought about their earlier comments and now Jonah's. Having sex with James would be just as deadly as letting him bite my neck. His earlier conversation with Victor finally made sense. The only way he had gotten the other vampires to let me live was by convincing them that I had other uses. They thought I was her for James' physical enjoyment. I put all my trust in him and stopped fighting; I knew he'd keep his promise and not hurt me… I hoped. The distant look in his eyes made me uneasy though, he wasn't acting like himself.

He pulled my shirt open, popping the buttons across the room. Heat rose in my cheeks and I could feel a blush spread across my chest as the cool air spread over my exposed skin. James licked my nipples roughly; his cold lips were like ice on my nipples. Hot tears were spilling out of my eyes, the difference in temperatures were exaggerated by my heightened state of awareness. I didn't understand why he was doing this in front of everybody.

James tugged down my underwear and positioned his body over me; hiding me the best he could from the watching vampires. His eyes met mine and there was shame mixed with desire. As much as it hurt him to do this to me, part of him was enjoying it. I shut my eyes tightly, wanting it to just be over.

He was breathing heavily now, his body practically shaking with the effort of holding back. He pushed his fingers into me roughly, working them back and forth quickly. I cried out in pain, but there was a rush of warmth between my legs that defied my protests. James had felt it too, my body was responding to his touch no matter who was watching or where we were. He was thrusting his hips into mine with a crushing force; I could tell he was close to losing control. There was a moan of enjoyment from somewhere in the room. The more James touched me the less I noticed that we weren't alone.

" Bella, why didn't you stay away?" He had pulled his jeans down and I could feel him pushing into me.

"This is it." I thought. Either I would live through it, or I would die in the only place I wanted to be- in James' arms.

**So... I am sort of having a hard time with this story. I had come into it with a very clear plot in my head, but things changed while I was writing it and I have lost momentum. I still have an idea of how this will end and I will keep working on it.. but please feel free to add suggestions or things you would like to see happen.. or if you think I should just go for it with my idea, good or bad, let me know! I am open to it all! Sorry guys.. you have all been so great with your reviews! I just want to keep the story good for you. =) Thanks!**


	17. Chapter 17

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_  
****So after reading the reviews I ha****ve**** decided to just head on in the direction I had originally planned. Most of the questions people had were things I was planning on answering with this chapter actually ****lol****. Either you all know me really well or I am just sadly predictable ****hehe****.. I hope you guys like how it ends. (Don't worry, we still ha****ve**** a few chapters before that happens.) Thanks again!! And please please review =) **

**Chapter 17**

I couldn't believe what had just happened to me. Out of everything I'd been through up to this point, this was the worst. Watching innocent girls being ripped apart, then having sex with James with everyone watching. Once it was over I'd leaned off the couch and was overcome with bone jarring dry heaves. I was thankful it had been so long since I'd eaten anything.

Victor had gotten up and ordered Elias to clean up the bodies; Jonah had followed him out the door. James pulled my shirt closed and picked me up, I was crying too hard to see so walking wasn't an option. I hid my face in his chest, trying to hide from the world.

Edward followed us back to the storeroom with his head down. The entire time he'd been muttering to himself and running his hands through his hair. He looked troubled and disgusted with himself. 'Well he should be!' I thought angrily. If he hadn't looked so consumed with guilt already I might have screamed at him. What he had done was horrible. There was no reason to mangle that girl the way he had.

We entered the small room together and Edward closed the door behind him absently. He huddled down in the corner, his eyes still wide and his mouth moving in soundless words. This wasn't the Edward I knew, there were no hints of the confident boy I'd spent so many months with. Instead it was a lost little boy with a broken soul. James let me down and sat on the floor next to me, our backs up against the cold stonewall. He and I watched Edward for a while before he spoke.

"Are you ok Bella?" He slipped his hand into mine. It felt like a smooth stone in my palm.

My bones ached and my soul felt empty. I wanted to just be numb, uncaring, but instead I was on emotional overload. There were bruises on every inch of me and at one point I had been sure James would crush my pelvis, but sitting there now I knew there was no real physical damage. He'd kept his promise. I couldn't stop the anger in me despite that.

"Yeah, I'm just peachy fucking keen." I spit at him bitterly.

"I'm sorry Bella! I am… I just have to make it look like I don't care how you feel." He looked crushed by my anger. He pulled his hand back to his own lap.

"I'm starting to think you don't' care! I understand that you need to keep up the charade, but why did you have to do _that_? In front of everyone! Not only could you have KILLED me but you humiliated me!" My words were weak at the end, breaking up with the tears that were spilling down my face. My chin quivered with my sobs, making impossible to keep talking. I covered my face with my hands.

"I know! I didn't want to do it! Well… I did a little. Just not like that." He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned. "It's so hard to explain Bella! After a vampire feeds… they get really turned on. Afterwards there's this intense need to… be with someone. I could have held back though, I knew that if I did Victor would have been suspicious. He thinks I only kept you alive so I could fuck you." There was true remorse on his face. It made me feel guilty for snapping at him.

"I just want to go home. Please James! Just get me out of here!" I was on the brink of being delirious with hunger and pain. I'm sure I will never be mentally healthy ever again.

"You can't Bella. You can never go home." James wouldn't look at me while he said it. He just stared across the room at Edward who was pulling at his hair and rocking back and forth on his heels.

"What? Why not? James… I can't handle this! Can't we just go? You and me and Edward, we'll run for it." James exploded with anger, standing quickly as he yelled.

"It's too late Bella! What the fuck did you think would happen by being involved with someone like me?" He leaned over me, his red eyes glowing. "You and Edward have been missing for three days now! Everyone in the state is looking for you! What do you think you're going to tell them about Edward when you get there? He doesn't have the option of just running for it! And do you think Victor would just let us go now that you know about him? He has eternity to look for us and he has a very long attention span for revenge. Look at Edward Bella! He's useless! The change fucked him up! Who knows if he'll ever go back to normal?" James gestured angrily at Edward who had looked up from his daze when James started yelling.

I studied Edward closely now. His hair was standing in all directions, his eyes wide with fear or maybe anger. I couldn't read anything off of him. Even though it hurt to move, I stood up. Carefully holding my shirt closed I moved slowly across the room towards Edward, not making any sudden moves.

"Bella no! Don't get too close to him." James had grabbed my wrist, holding me back.

"It's ok James. I don't believe he'll hurt me." I shook my head stubbornly and pulled my arm away.

James stayed close by as I kneeled down in front of Edward, running my fingers through his rumpled hair and over his smooth jaw.

"Edward? Are you all right?" His eyes flickered up to me.

"Oh Bella, what have I done?" He threw his arms around me and buried his face in my neck.

"Sshh, its ok Edward. It will be ok." I wasn't sure what to say. He'd done evil things, how do you comfort that? He pulled away from me wildly.

"NO! It's never going to be ok Bella! Look at me! I'm damned! I'm evil! Didn't you see what I did to that girl? Bella, I killed an entire family! I murdered children! I can't stop it… the hunger… it makes me into someone else!" He hid his face against me again and I looked up at James.

He didn't look very happy about me being so close to Edward, I wasn't sure if it was because he thought Edward was dangerous or because my shirt was hanging open giving Edward a full view. Well James had just given everyone a free show anyway, and Edward wasn't paying any attention to what I was wearing, or not wearing I should say. So why should I care?

I felt Edward's cool lips on my neck. They were soft like a lover whispering sweet words onto my skin. It caught me off guard at first, and before I had a chance to think about it James had yanked me out of Edwards hold and was standing in front of me.

Edward was still crouched on the ground but his mouth was angry, pulled into a snarl. He'd been about to bite me. After a split second his face went blank and then back to the self-loathing hatred.

"God, Bella! I'm so sorry! Don't you see! I can't control myself! Why did you do this to me? Why didn't you just kill me? This is all your fault, I never should have taken Bella to see you!" He was screaming at James, his hands balled into fists.

James just shook his head and backed up so that I was between him and the wall. He kept his hands down and spoke with a soft voice, trying to calm Edward down.

"We can talk about this later Edward, it's too late to change anything now. All we can do is try to get you under control so we can save Bella. Victor and Jonah won't tolerate her being here for long, so unless you have any better suggestions why don't you just wait outside." The fight had gone out of Edward; leaving him deflated.

Edward dragged his feet as he left the room, giving me one last apologetic glance. James hadn't moved from in front of me so I had to stand on my tiptoes to peek over his shoulders.

"Shit… I don't know what to do with him." James turned to face me and pulled me into his arms. The world drifted away for a moment, leaving me to believe in good things again for one blissful second.

"Why don't you just make me into a vampire James." The idea hadn't crossed my mind until he told me I couldn't go home. He held me tighter to him and took a deep breath in.

"I've considered that… even before all this. I knew on the beach that Victor was going to change me, and I thought about how it would be if I could make you a vampire too, and we could just be together. "

"So why not then?" I put my hands on his face and forced him to look me in the eyes.

"Victor and Jonah don't see women as people, just as objects. All they think they're good for is blood and sex." James closed his eyes, obviously fighting off a bad memory. " When I first changed they were bragging about how many female vampires they've killed. They don't think women are worthy of immortality. Elias isn't so bad, but he'll do whatever Victor and Jonah tell him too."

He has said all this with an apologetic tone, like it was his fault the other vampires thought they were so much better then women. I considered what he said before forming a plan in my head.

"If you make me a vampire, then there are three of us against three of them. You don't think we could fight them?" While I spoke I thought of all the movies I'd ever seen with vampires in them. James had said they were different, stakes don't hurt them and neither does the sun. So how do you kill them?

" Bella, I know you… I've been watching you for months. You're a good person; I don't believe you'd be ok killing innocent people. And that's how we eat. There's no resisting either... trust me. I've tried. Eventually the hunger just takes over. Don't you see what it's done to Edward? I couldn't live with myself if you turned into a monster like that." James brushed his fingers through my tangled hair and let his hand trail down my back to rest on the dip just above my hip.

"It's not fair! What are we going to do then?" Despair took a firm hold in my heart, making me feel heavier than normal. I hadn't realized that my legs had given out and the only thing holding me up was James.

"I'm going to figure something out Bella. I just need some more time." He helped me sit down on the hard floor. I wished I had something softer to sit on.

"As soon as I can sneak in some blankets I will. You probably won't be here for long anyway. I've been staying at Victor's house. He'll probably want me to get you out of the club soon. I'll bring you some new clothes too." I studied him with a curious thought growing in my mind.

"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" My question caught him off guard, if there had been blood flowing in his veins I think he would have blushed.

"I didn't. Not exactly… sometimes I just get these feelings about what you want or need. I always know where you are." He smiled weakly at me.

"How is that possible?" He fidgeted nervously while I waited for him to answer.

"Elias says everyone has some sort of sixth sense or power whatever you want to call it, and when you change it just gets stronger. Most vamps don't fully develop their power for years though."

"So they can all read minds too?" Worry stirred in my stomach.

"Oh no. Every one is different. And I don't 'read' minds… I just get a sense of what someone is thinking, you especially." He winked at me before continuing. "Victor can sort of hypnotize people if they look him in the eyes, Jonah can sense when people are going to move, and Elias can make people feel complacent. They do whatever he wants. " I remembered the red headed girl and how she'd seemed dazed right before the attack.

"Bella, I have to go for awhile. Victor has a job for me tonight, but I'll be back for you soon." He took his shirt off and handed it to me. "Sorry, I guess I should have done that earlier."

"Yeah, you should have." James looked hurt until I started to giggle.

"I guess I'm just not used to thinking about someone else all the time." He growled and pulled me closer to him, kissing me viciously.

When it felt like I was about to run out of air I pulled away. I promised myself I wouldn't cry when James left, but I couldn't help it. As soon as the door shut they poured out of my eyes hot and sticky on my face. When I'd cried myself dry I wandered over to the shelves and pulled some small towels out of a box to make a pillow. It was stiff and the floor was hard, but I couldn't fight the sleep that was tugging at my eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._  
Thank you everyone for all the great input and reviews! I appreciate it all.. even the criticism. =)**

**Chapter 18 **

When I woke up I felt dizzy and sick with hunger. Being inside with no windows was screwing with my sense of time. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep or how long since the last time I ate. My bladder screamed in desperation, if I didn't get to use the bathroom soon I was going to pee in a box I thought angrily. Why do things have to be so difficult I thought warily.

I let myself succumb to the depression that had been gnawing at my heart for days. The despair I felt was so thick it choked off my air and left me almost numb from the lack of oxygen. My lungs finally fought back and I sucked a deep breath in. It was clear to me now that soon I was going to die. There was no fighting it. James had been right; I couldn't bare the thought of turning into something like Edward. Even if I were able to control myself most of the time like James, I wouldn't be able to kill innocent people to feed my hunger. And Victor wouldn't stand for me living for much longer.

My chest tightened around a ball of sobs; suddenly life seemed too short. I was angry with myself for not enjoying everything more. Why hadn't I told Charlie and Renee how much I loved them? I should have appreciated the things I had for what they were.

I ran my hand over the cement floor, feeling the gritty bits of dirt and fine sand that clung to my hands. Even the thought of never being able to touch anything again hurt. There was so much I would miss.

What hurt most was knowing that James and I had never gotten a chance to really be together. There would never be that new relationship feeling, where your heart speeds up every time the phone rings, or the uncontrollable smile you get whenever you think about someone. At least we'd had that night at his house to talk, and the beach. It's strange to me that I had associated James with the darkness before. Now, even though he is closer to being evil, I only see light when I think about him.

My entire body was shaking violently as I cried. It was too much for me to take. I was so scared and hungry and tired. My hands curled into fists, I beat them against the ground. My knuckles split and ached from the impact.

"It's not fair! Why are you doing this to me?" I screamed out at God or nobody. I wasn't sure if anyone out there even cared anymore. I'd been so sure that there was good in the world, and that as long as I was a good person nothing bad would happen to me. So why this? What had I done?

I curled up into a ball, not even bothering to wipe the tears away anymore. The room spun in circles around me, I was starving and even sitting up took too much energy. My mind wandered across the faces of the people I love. Charlie, Renee, Alice and Emmett. I never got to say good-bye. Edward, he doesn't deserve what's happened to him, and it's all my fault. If only I hadn't let him take me to James' that night. Now he would spend the rest of eternity hating himself when it's me he should blame.

Through my sobs I vaguely noticed the door opening. James appeared before me, shimmering through my tear blurred eyes like a hallucination..

"Bella, don't cry." He wrapped a large blanket around me and pulled me up so I could lean my head against his chest.

"I don't want to die James. I'm so scared." I held on to him as tightly as I could, using him as an anchor to keep me from falling deeper into the sadness.

"You're not going to, not any time soon. I promise Bella. I'll keep you safe. We just have to play these games for a little while longer ok?" James lifted my chin and kissed my eyes.

"Please don't cry. It will be ok." I nodded and took a few deep breaths, hiccupping slightly. Once I'd calmed down I noticed James had brought a paper grocery bag with him.

"What's that?" I asked cautiously. I wasn't ready for any surprises.

"I brought you some clothes." James pulled out a pair of my jeans, a bra and a sweatshirt.

"Where'd you get these?" I asked while holding the clothes up for inspection.

"Well, your house its pretty easy to break into Bella." He laughed at me thoughtfully.

"Did you see Charlie? Is he ok?" He looked away from me, down at the floor before he answered.

"No, he wasn't home. Sorry."

"That's all right. Thank you for bringing this." We were both silent as pulled on the jeans. My hands were shaking so badly that I couldn't fasten the button on my pants. James helped my then took my hands into his and looked at me with alarm.

"Damn Bella, I totally forgot about food. I'm sorry. Come on, we can get something out of the kitchen."

"Kitchen? Where are we?" I had forgotten there was more to the building then the little room I'd been in. James slipped an arm around my waist and helped me walk out into a brightly lit white hallway.

"Victor's club in Seattle. They brought you here after they found you on the mountain."

"The mountain?" I struggled to remember but all that came to me was James' car and a strong wind.

"Yeah, after you took off while Edward and I were fighting. They were looking for me and found you. Then brought you here to use you as bait for me."

We found our way into a small industrial looking kitchen. All the counters were stainless steel and in the corner was a large refrigerator. Everything shined like it was brand new, I didn't want to touch anything and leave a smudge on it. James rummaged through the fridge, his voice came from inside it.

"There's not a whole lot, they basically only serve appetizers during happy hour and at lunch on Saturday's. I bar tended here a few times before… I changed." James forgot what he was saying when he looked at my face and his eyes narrowed in worry. Without anymore talking he helped me to sit on one of the counters while he busied himself getting me something to eat.

He quickly brought me some chicken strips and a can of root beer. My first reaction to the smell was nauseating. My mouth filled with saliva and a wave of dizziness made me close my eyes. I swayed where I sat and held my breath. After a second it passed and I was able to take a bite. James watched me intently, offering to bring something else if I wanted.

After only three small strips I felt full, almost to the point of being sick. I took a few drinks of the soda and leaned back against the wall. I felt better than I had in days. James still looked uneasy.

"What's wrong?" I pulled his hand into my lap, with clothes and a full tummy my optimism was coming back. The sadness of James face hurt me deeply; I hate to see him like that.

"I can't believe I brought you into this. You look so skinny, and pale. I haven't even been able to take care of you while you're here. I'm not worth you going through all this. Why do you even care about me?" His red eyes looked dull and tired.

"I don't know James." I laughed when his face fell even more. "But I do love you. There's something between us… I've always felt it. We're meant to be together."

"But we're not going to be together Bella! I screwed everything up before I even knew you had feelings for me. If I had just waited until I had enough money to leave my dad things might have worked out. I was just too angry and greedy. All I thought about was hurting people. Instead I've just hurt you."

I pulled James so he was standing between my legs and put my forehead against his chest. As hard I tried I couldn't remember what his heartbeat sounded like. It didn't matter though. As long as James loved me everything would be ok. The desperation I'd felt earlier had left my heart when I saw his face. Even if I died tonight I would be ok with it knowing he loved me.

"James, no matter what you do or what you are, I'm never going to give up on you. I know deep inside you there is something good, and I love you. I saw it when we were in Victor's office and the rest of them ripped those poor girls apart. You only did what you had to. I know you don't like hurting people, even if you think that's true. "

He placed his lips on mine, cutting off my words. He was so gentle with me, holding my back softly and letting his kisses work down my neck and then back to my lips.

"What did I ever do to bring you to me?" James whispered into my parted lips.

His words reminded me of my angry screams at God, blaming him for doing such horrible things to me. I had it so wrong. God hadn't done anything except bring me to the one I love. How many times have I sworn to myself that I would do anything to be with my one true love? I saw it now; this is my trial, my test. If I could survive this, then I'd have the rest of my life to be happy with James.

With new resolve I kissed James back with my heart full of strength. I'd fight, I'd lie and I'd kill… all to be with him. If that's what it took, I was prepared.

"What's it like to die?" I took James' face into my hands. I wanted to watch his eyes, to know if he was telling me the truth.

"Bella, I told you… you're not going to die. Not here- I won't let it happen." James closed his eyes, refusing to look at me. But he didn't pull away.

"No, I'm not scared anymore. I just want to know. Please." He opened his eyes again and sighed.

"It hurt. It was almost the worst thing that's ever happened to me. The pain was excruciating, and I told you… it blocks everything out. It overwhelmed me. I thought I could handle it but in the end I was just screaming and crying. Begging for it to stop. In the end I thought the transformation failed. When the pain wasn't as bad and I could think straight I thought I was just going to disappear. Blow out like a candle. It was sort of peaceful, the only thing that made me feel sad was thinking that I'd never see you again." James smiled ruefully, even at his most endearing he was trying to make a move.

I laughed and shook my head.

"You really know how to lay it on a girl don't you." A sensual growl started deep in James' chest.

"I could lay on you, if that's really what you want." I put my hand on his chest in a feeble attempt to hold him back.

"Hey, hold on now. I don't think I have the energy for that right now. And my bruises still aren't gone from last time." I lifted my arm to inspect the small purple bruises that snaked their way across my skin.

I'd been joking, but when I looked up at James he looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry Bella." He pulled away from me before I could grab his hand.

"No! James, I don't care about that! I was just joking! Come back!" I gave him my best pout.

"We should go anyway. Victor told me to get you out of here before the club reopens tonight." He worked his hands underneath my thighs and lifted me off the counter. I crossed my legs behind him and smiled at our rare moment of happiness.

"Where are we going?"

"Um, to Victor's house. He wants you close so he can keep an eye on us." My heart sunk into my stomach, but I didn't want James to see how scared I really was.

"It's all right, just play the game right? I can do that." I smiled confidently.

"That's my girl."

"Hey, where's Edward?" It had just occurred to me that he wasn't with us.

"Oh, yeah… he's with Elias, working." James didn't sound very happy about that so I let it go, I was sure I didn't want to know the details anyway.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else to eat before we go?" James set me down on my feet carefully.

"No, I don't think so. My stomach must have shrank, I can't eat anymore." I rubbed my stomach to show him how full I was.

We walked out together into the bright afternoon light. I covered my eyes and squinted against the blinding sun. Once my eyes adjusted I could see it was a normal cloudy Seattle day. I'd been inside for so long that natural light was too much for me. James helped me over to his new car. It was one of the strangest cars I'd ever seen.

"So, you like it?" He asked when he opened the door for me.

"It looks like a shopping cart." I laughed.

"Well, it might look like a shopping cart. But wait 'til you see how fast it goes."

James gave me a wicked smile and put the car in gear. The tires screeched loudly against the pavement and we took off out of the parking lot. I quickly pulled the seat belt on thinking I might not have to worry about dealing with Victor if I died in a car accident on the way there.


	19. Chapter 19

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._  
Sorry it's been so long since I updated. Hope you like the way the story is going =) As always.. please review! -Laura**

**Chapter 19**

We flew through the streets of Seattle with a complete disregard for traffic laws. James had been right about the car being fast, I had to tell him more than a few times that I am mortal and if he crashes I will die. He would just laugh at me and tell me not to worry.

That seemed like a ridiculous request for me at this moment in time. All I did anymore was worry. I watched out the window as the world blew by in a blur. It was early afternoon and there were still people out doing their shopping and business, hurrying to finish whatever mundane task they needed to get done before heading home. I envied them. I missed my old boring life so much now.

Just before leaving the city we stopped at a red light and I could see the front page of the local paper on display at the sidewalk vendor table. It had the words "State in Panic." written boldly across the top. Just below it were pictures of people who had been found murdered or were missing. It was a shock to see my own face staring back at me. They'd used my horrible school ID shot, how unfortunate for me. James caught my wide-eyed stare out the window and took my hand when he saw what I was looking at.

We drove out of the city quietly, neither of us knowing what to say. My mind was spinning with ideas. We could just make a run for it, right now. Turn the car around and leave the state. James could bite me and make me into a vampire and we could just stay in hiding. But for how long I wondered? Forever? My spirits fell even further as I felt the car slowing down.

"James, wait." I put a hand on the steering wheel to keep him from turning off the street into the driveway he'd been about to.

"Let's think about this for second ok?" He pulled off the road and turned off the car to give me his full attention.

"Even if you figure out a way to get me out of here, then what? You saw that newspaper. How do I explain where I've been and what happened to Edward? You said yourself that Victor would just come after me right? So going home is out of the question. I'll be by myself doing who knows what. " I waited for him to say something but James just messed his hair and looked at me sideways. Finally after thinking about what I'd said for a long time he answered me.

"If we run, it's not going to turn out good. Victor will hunt us; he has nothing better to do. He only does all this business stuff so he can mess with people. He doesn't really care about the money. " James took my hand lightly.

"If we stay, I will die. You know that. You can't keep lying to yourself saying that you're going to figure something out." I stared at him for a long time, willing myself not to blink. I wasn't sure why James' was so against making me into a vampire, but I am sure there was more to it than what he was saying.

"I know. I just… I don't know what to do." He finally looked away, breaking to connection our eyes had made.

"If we can hide long enough for you to change me, then we might have a chance to run… or fight." I wanted to scream at him, yell and punch him. Anything to make him see that just rolling over and doing what Victor told him to wouldn't help anything; it would just make it worse.

"I'd rather die knowing I didn't just give up James. And if anyone is going to kill me, I want it to be you." Without looking at me James put the car in first and took off onto the highway.

"We'll find somewhere to hide, but I am not going to kill you Bella. I already told you I don't want to make you into a vampire." He finally said once we'd been driving for a few minutes.

"Edward isn't reliable right now, he doesn't even know which way is up. So it's just us for now." He looked at me, challenging me to change my mind.

"It will always be just us." I smiled sweetly at him. James laughed and shook his head.

"Seriously, you are one crazy chic."

We drove south for hours, heading east once we were out of Oregon. The trip was faster than usual since James doesn't need to sleep. It was odd for me to fall asleep and wake up in a new state.

James and I talked about anything and everything, trying to make up for lost time. There was so much to say and we hadn't had enough time to say it. He finally opened up about missing his mom, and how angry he had been when she started a new life and didn't take him with her. I felt guilty for having such a normal and happy childhood. He seemed happy now though, with me.

It was just as we were passing the Nevada welcoming sign when James' phone rang, the ring muted in his pocket. The air in the car seemed to chill slightly. He pulled it out and signaled for me to stay quiet, like he needed to tell me that I thought wildly.

"Hello?" He waited for the person on the other line to talk for a while.

"No, I'm not coming back." There was a long pause.

"I would have told you if you weren't being such a psycho! I don't trust you right now though."

"Look, if you think you can control yourself, and if you can get away from those guys… then I'll tell you where to meet us. But if you try anything- I swear to God I'll pull your teeth out of your skull and shove them down your throat. You got it?" He must be talking to Edward I thought to myself. It was hard not to giggle. Things had changed so much between them. Now Edward was the unpredictable, dangerous one.

"Just head south for awhile. Ditch the phone when you can and pick up a car. It will be harder to track your scent that way. When you get to California call me." James hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

"All right… Edward is going to come out here and meet us. " James didn't sound too happy about it but didn't say much else.

"Things are going to be ok. I can feel it." I whispered across the dark car.

"We should stop for awhile. The sun will be up soon and there aren't enough clouds here to hide me." James looked out the window towards the East, searching for signs of light.

"I thought the sun didn't hurt you?" I was confused now. If he couldn't go out in the sun, then why did we head for the desert?

"It doesn't, but it does something really weird to my skin." James laughed nervously "Seriously though, it's one of those things that are different I told you about. I never would have thought of before becoming a vampire. It's actually kind of lame…" James still wouldn't look at me, a nervous smile played at his lips.

"What are you talking about?" I pushed harder now, trying to figure out what the deal was.

"AAggg.. fine! I'll tell you… but don't laugh ok?" It was another one of those rare moments where James wasn't the most confident guy I knew.

"I won't laugh. Cross my heart and hope to die." I made little crossing motions across my chest and set my mouth in a straight line.

"So… when I go out in the sun… I sort of sparkle." James refused to look in my direction at all now.

"Sparkle? Like what do you mean sparkle?" I wasn't laughing at all, just trying to understand what he meant.

"Yeah! I sparkle, like fucking glitter or something! I mean.. what the hell right? I am supposed to be this bad ass, killer vampire, and when I go out in the sun I light up like a freaking disco ball!" A small giggle escaped my lips and James gave me the dirtiest look I'd ever received.

"You promised Bella." He growled angrily.

"I know! It's just… the way you describe it. I'm sure it's not that bad." I tried to sooth his anger with my voice.

"You want to know how bad it is Bella? Edward likes it. Common man… if he likes it, you know it's gay." James smiled slyly now and I burst out in a loud belly laugh.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." I reassured him through my fits of giggles.

"Just you wait. I'll show you and you're gonna laugh your ass off." James poked me roughly in the side as I continued to laugh.

There was a small motel up ahead with a free cable tv sign that we pulled into. Just from the looks of the office I could tell I wouldn't have stayed there if I had any other choice. But James got us a room for the day and I prayed it would pass quickly.

When we got to our room it smelled like old cigarette smoke and mildew. There were stains on every possible surface, even the ceiling. I was glad to be out of the car though, so I tried to ignore the room. James and I curled up on the bed and talked for a long time about being sparkly and what the vampires in movies were like. He had hit me a little harder than he should have when I told him that Rainbow Brite sparkled and she was still cool.

Just as the first rays of sunlight were peaking through the curtains there was a knock at the door. James opened it to find Edward standing in the morning light, and just like he'd said, Edward sparkled like a huge diamond in the sun. He edged into the room around James and sat on the chair next to the bed.

"Hey Bella." He gave me an uncertain smile and waited for James to come back to us.

"So, what's going on?" James stood in front of Edward with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's not good. Victor and Jonah figured out that you took off almost right away. They would have been harder on me if I hadn't been with Elias when you guys took off. I was supposed to find a lawyer that they are um… done with. But as soon as I could I took off. They're probably already on their way after us now." Edward had given me an odd look when he said he was supposed to go after the lawyer but I didn't have a chance to ask him about it.

"All right then. As soon as the sun goes down we'll take of again. They won't be able to go out in the sun without attracting attention either so we should be safe until then.

"This isn't good. Victor looked ready to kill when I talked to him." Edward was visibly shaken by what he'd seen with Victor.

"Yeah I bet he is. They don't like to be disobeyed." James put an arm around my shoulders and sat on the bed next to me.

"I think you were right Bella." I looked at him confused.

"If you are a vampire, then we'd have three on three." James looked from me to Edward, waiting for a confirmation that he was right. I was about to hug him and tell him I was ready when Edward jumped out of the chair and tackled James.

"No! I won't let you." He was on top of James choking him, rage burned in his eyes.

"You already ruined my life! I won't let you do it to Bella!" I ran to the two fighting vampires and wrapped my arms around Edward's neck. Of course it didn't do anything but I could scream in his ear now.

"Stop it! Edward! Just stop!" He sat back and James scooted away to sit up against the wall.

"I told James that I wanted him to make me a vampire and he refused. He just see's now that it's the only choice! What else are we supposed to do?" I was panting with frustration. This was our only clear option.

"Bella, you don't know what this is like. Please… just wait awhile. Maybe we can think of something else." Edward was pleading with me, still on his knees from trying to strangle James.

"I'll wait on more night, and if don't have a plan by then… I won't take no for an answer after that." I cross my arms over my chest to show that the subject was settled.

If only I'd known we didn't have another night, I would have fought harder to make Edward see. I would have had James bite me right then and there. Even then… we wouldn't have had enough time though. All my luck had finally run out.


	20. Chapter 20

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_  
So I got a new laptop for Christmas (yay!) but I am having a hard time adjusting to the new key board. I only had time to go through the story once so if you notice any mistakes please feel free to tell me! I have a very bad habit of typing the wrong words (like fell instead off feel)and forgetting about punctuation completely lol. Also, I would like to thank everyone who had supported this story so far. Sorry I haven't had a chance to reply to the reviews individually, I just barely have time to write the story. Thank you! Thank you! Anyway.. on with the story =)**

**Chapter 20**

The day passed slowly. Edward and James spent hours going over different plans and strategies, but never forming any concrete plans. Our final option, the one we all agreed on, was to run for a few more days. We would head south, east so we could spend as much time in the sun as possible. Then once we felt like we'd put enough distance between us and our persuers, James would turn me.

Edward wasn't thrilled with the idea, but after we talked for a long time about it, he finally gave in. He finally realized that it was the best option. With that settled James and Edward decided to find someone to feed off of before we hit the road. The idea still made me sick to my stomach, but I'd have to get used to it. Soon it would be me out there hunting down a human for my dinner.

I decided to shower while they were gone, it felt like it had been weeks since the last time I'd taken a real shower. I inspected my face and body while I waited for the water to heat up. I had lost a considerable amount of weight and my skin had a slightly grey tone. The bruises from when James had forced himself on me the other day had almost faded, I smiled at the thought of James touching me. As much as I hated what had happened right before, and that those disgusting vampires were watching, I couldn't help but enjoy being with James.

The water warmed me all the way down to my toes. I just stood there letting the water pound against my head while I let my mind wander a bit. This may have been a dump of a motel, but thankfully they had the small single serving shampoo and body wash containers in the shower. I worked the shampoo into a lather and leaned my head back into the water to rinse. Suddenly the warm feeling I'd been enjoying slipped down the drain as I got the distinct feeling of being watched.

With one quick motion I pulled the shower curtain back and searched the small bathroom. It was empty, just like it was supposed to be. I went back to showering, shuddering against the feeling of eyes on me. My nerves were shot, I was imagining things now. The flourescent lights flickered and hummed while I finished my shower, drying off quickly so I could dress and get back to James.

After I pulled on my clothes I finger brushed my hair and opened the bathroom door. Our room was still empty, James and Edward must still be feeding. I sighed and plopped on the bed. Before I could get comfortable there was a light knock on the door. I thought it was odd that James or Edward would knock, but I didn't think about it enough before reaching for the handle. It wasn't until I had the door a fraction of an inch open that I realized my mistake. It was too late though, Jonah shoved the door open roughly, sending me sprawling onto the floor.

"Well well well… We came looking for James, but I think we found something even better." He laughed and stepped aside for Victor to enter the room.

"If we can't get to him, we'll just have him come to us." Victor's words were hard to understand through his accent, but I got the idea.

Just as I took a deep breath to scream for help, a strong cold hand clamped down over my mouth. Jonah shoved me up against the wall and put his face right in front of mine.

"Oh, a fighter… this will be fun." Jonah pulled a pillow off the bed and ripped the pillow case into a long strip of material. My eyes couldn't keep up with his quick movements, but seconds later he had it over my mouth and tied behind my head as a gag.

"Let's go, he'll know where to find her." Victor barked the order at Jonah as he was tying another strip of material around my wrists. The floor disappeared from beneath me as he lifted me over his shoulder.

The sidewalk swayed in my vision as we made it out to their car in a flash. We moved so fast that my stomach turned from the movement. I had squeezed my eyes shut to try and stop the sick feeling from forcing me to puke out what little food I had in my stomach. The pressure from Jonah's body was gone and now there was a scratchy carpet against my cheek, followed my loud thud. I opened my eyes to complete darkness.

Once the car started I could tell I'd been thrown into the trunk of car. I rolled painfully into the side wall as we took a turn too quickly. My hands struggled against the material Jonah had used to tie them but they were too tight. He must have doubled up the material otherwise I would have been able to tear the thin pillow case material. In the darkness I moved my hands across the sides of the trunk's opening, looking for a latch or button to open the trunk from the inside. After a few minutes I gave up, not even sure what I was looking for.

The sound of the road humming beneath us was having a hypnotizing affect on me. I drifted in and out of strange dreams and moments of complete panic. I kicked against the car and screamed until my throat felt like it was bleeding, it didn't help anything. After what must have been hours the car slowed and turned onto what felt like a dirt road. Rain was beating against the car so loudly I could barely here the tires on the ground anymore. We rolled to a stop and two doors slammed, leaving me with only the rain.

It wasn't long before the trunk popped open and I was pelted by the driving rain. Jonah leaned over and lifted me out of the trunk with one arm. I got a quick glance at a huge Tudor style house with high peaks and dark windows. We followed Victor into the house and after a few rooms we began down a set of wooden steps.

The air got colder and colder with each step we took into the ground. We must be in basement I thought, trying to judge how many stairs we'd taken. It felt like we'd been walking for a long time. The smell coming from below us was horrific. It was like a dead animal mixed with dirt and rotting food. I gagged against the material in my mouth. Somewhere in the back ground I could hear someone crying.

We had finally gotten to the bottom and from my position over Jonah's shoulder I could see a wooden floor covered with dirt and clumps of something… I didn't want to get a closer look I though disgustedly. Jonah dropped me into a corner with a harsh thud, jarring my tail bone painfully.

My eyes adjusted slowly, taking in the dark room around me. The walls seemed dirty at first, but as the light filled my eyes I could see it was splashes of blood. My heart skipped a few beats in my chest as I scanned across the floor to see a girl laying on the floor on the other side of the room.

She was completely naked and covered in deep slash marks. There were no restraints on her, but the way she was huddled against the wall I didn't think she could get up anyway. When she saw me she started screaming at me to run. It was pointless though, with Jonah and Victor here I wouldn't get far anyway.

All I could do was watch in horror as Victor walked over to her and slowly put one boot clad foot on her head and without using any force at all, crushed her skull into the floor. It was my turn to scream now.

I thrashed and strained against my bindings, trying to put distance between the two monsters in front of me. The corner of the room pressed against my back and I knew I was trapped.

"Let me just have a little taste. I got to watch James take a piece, but never got any myself." Jonah was speaking to Victor, watching my descent into madness with a horrible smile on his face.

"Fine, just don't break her too badly. I want James to watch as she dies. He needs to be taught how to obey the rules." Jonah walked towards me and put one hand around my neck, lifting me effortlessly.

I choked and tried to suck in air through his tight hold while trying to kick at his chest and stomach at the same time. Each kick felt like hitting a brick wall.

"You and I are going to have some fun little Isabella." His voice echoed in my head like a loud speaker. For me, the torture had just begun.


	21. Chapter 21

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer._  
I feel bad for taking so long to update the past few days so here is the next chapter. It's just a lemon, so you can skip it if you don't like them. Actually.. if you don't like rape or torture you probably shouldn't read it either. If you have read any of my other stories then you know what to expect. **

**Chapter 21**

Jonah carried me back up the stairs and into a dark room without saying another word. As we were leaving I could see Victor crouching over the girl he'd just killed, I had the distinct feeling he was about to eat her. My mind conjured images of his teeth slicing through her thin skin like a ripe fruit. I shuddered at the thought and pushed it away.

My body fought violently against Jonah even though I knew that it wouldn't work. Jonah seemed to be enjoying my fighting , egging me on.

"Common, you can fight harder then that. Show how much you don't want this little girl." He laughed viciously then threw me onto a bed.

Jonah pulled his shirt over his head while watching me cower towards the headboard. I had no where to go. He undid the zipper on his black pants and let them fall to the floor when the full impact of what was about to happen hit me. A uncontrollable shaking started in my limbs and spread to entire body. His body looked powerful, he was thin but well built. Each muscle was clearly defined, even if he hadn't been a vampire he could have easily over powered me.

"Aaaww, what happened to the little fighter? Giving up already?" He grabbed my ankle and pulled me close to him, pressing himself between my legs.

He reached down and tore my shirt off, tossing into the corner like trash. I held my hands up in front of me as a shield and Jonah made a clicking noise in the back of his throat.

"Now now, we don't need any of that." He gripped each of my wrists tightly and pulled them apart, the bindings fell to the floor in pieces of shredded material.

Jonah pulled my wrist up to the head board and used a leather strap to tie it there, doing the same with my other wrist. My bare chest felt vulnerable, like he might thrust a hand into it and pull out my heart. Jonah gave me a look that told me he had other plans for today. He was straddling me, but sitting up enough that there was a little space between us. With as much force as I could muster I kicked him between the legs, aiming for his weak spot.

I let out a gasp of pain. It felt like my shin had just made contact with a solid block of ice and shattered. Jonah's eyes narrowed and a flash of movement caught me across my left cheek. My vision turned red and large explosions of light shot across the room.

"Enough! It's time for you to learn how to act while you are a guest in my house." Jonah continued on undressing me while I fought to stay awake. It felt like my brain had rattled inside my skull after his hit.

Now that I was naked Jonah removed the gag from my mouth and gave me a second to take a few deep breaths.

"I want you to tell me you're sorry." Jonah's voice was icy and controlled.

"Fuck you!" As soon as the words were out of my mouth another hit came on the other cheek now. I could taste blood in my mouth, I tried to swallow against it.

"Maybe we should bleed out some of that fight huh?" Jonah opened a drawer on the night stand next to the bed and pulled out a sharp knife with a shiny black handle.

He placed a hand on my thigh just above the knee, holding my right leg still. A burning feeling, like a hot poker, seared into my thigh. Jonah made a deep slit on the inside of my leg and smiled. I screamed in pain and fear as he put his lips against the deep cut and sucked.

After a minute he sat up, looking like a satisfied predator after the kill.

"That's enough I think. How do you feel now little Bella?" While he drank my blood I had felt the room spin around me, making me dizzier and dizzier. I wanted to sleep very badly, but fear kept me awake.

"Good.. You will obey me now won't you. No more fighting and I won't have to hurt you so much. Do you understand how that works?" I nodded weakly.

"Now tell me you're sorry for fighting against me."

"I'm sorry." My voice caught with a little sob towards the end, but Jonah seemed happy.

His cold hands pushed my thighs apart and he looked me over, making a low growling noise in his chest.

"I remember this from the other night, James was so selfish not to share." He leaned down and I felt his cold tongue on me.

He traced around the outside of my opening, lightly licking at the wetness that had begun to pool between my legs. I groaned and fought against the darkness edging its way into my eyes. Jonah mistook my groan for that of enjoyment and slipped his tongue inside me. I arched away from him but he kept a firm grip on my hips. Hot tears slid down my cheeks. I wanted so badly to kick at him, but I was scared of what he would do next if I kept fighting

"Spread your legs for me Bella, show me you like it." I obeyed by opening my legs even wider, biting my lip to keep from crying out.

His fingers worked their way into me and pumped roughly. It took every bit of control I had left to keep from moving away. When I felt one cold finger slid down towards my ass I screamed and pulled up towards the headboard.

"No! Please stop! I can't do this, please please.. Just kill me." I begged and pleaded, but Jonah's face had gone dark.

"Don't worry, I will fulfill that request eventually.. But right now, you need to be punished for pulling away from me."

Jonah got off the bed and went to the drawer he'd pulled the knife out of. He rummaged through for a second and came out with a long, round piece of wood with leather straps on each end. Jonah forced the piece of wood between my teeth and tied the straps behind my head. He turned back to the drawer and pulled out a piece of material rolled onto itself. It was bulky like it had something inside it.

"Women are a inferior species. Human women are almost completely worthless. You will see once we're done here, your only purpose is to fulfill my needs. Pleasure, and hunger." He unrolled and material and on the inside were three rows of sharp tiny needles.

The material was as long as a belt and almost three inches wide- it was covered in blood. I screamed against the wooden bit in my mouth as he tied the torture device around my thigh and forced the needles into my flesh.

He licked at the blood that oozed out from beneath the material and laughed at my screams.

"Now, no more fighting. Do you understand?" He spaced out each word, making sure his accent didn't hide and of the words.

I nodded energetically, hoping my enthusiasm would make him take the needles out of my thigh. My entire right leg burned in pain.

"Where were we then?" Jonah trailed his hand through the blood then pushed them inside me again. Like before he let one finger trail even lower. I cringed as he worked his way inside me, my body tried to keep him out but that only made it more painful.

"If you relax, you just might enjoy this. You have such a sweet ass after all." Jonah's face was hidden by a shadow but his voice barely held back his enjoyment.

He forced my legs further apart, a flash of white hot pain seared through me when he moved my right leg. The needles dug in even deeper making it hard for me to concentrate on what he was doing. Jonah scooted closer to me and slipped his rock hard penis inside me, thrusting harshly against me. He made a slight attempt to hold back his strength, but I was sure something inside me splintered with the force of him pounding against me.

I couldn't hold back the screams any longer, it felt like my throat was on fire. Everything around me was flowing and whirling like water. The sound of my own screams and Jonah's laughing seemed to slip further and further away and the pain became more intense until all I knew was the heat in my leg.

My body registered that Jonah had pulled out and was lifting my hips. When I felt the tip of him trail down the back of my thigh I lost it. I bucked and kicked, trying to keep him away from me.

"I told you, just relax and it won't be so bad. It's coming, whether you want it to or not." Jonah gripped my thighs just below my ass and held me still while he entered me.

"A sweet ass indeed." He smiled and moaned while forcing himself all the way inside me. It felt he was tearing me apart.

I cried from this new pain, begging God to let me die now. There was no fear of dying anymore, only a longing to release me from this torture. I screamed out James' name, crying for him to save me. Jonah just pushed harder and faster with every scream.

Now that I longed for unconsciousness it refused to come, keeping me awake for every painful, humiliating moment. My teeth dug further into the wood and I was sure it would either snap or break my teeth. Finally, after what felt like hours, he stopped.

Jonah pulled out of me and lay down on the bed next to me. He lazily played and flicked at my nipples, smiling when they puckered and turned hard from his touch.

"Don't worry, I will teach how to enjoy that after awhile." He picked up the knife from the pillow where he left it and made a new cut on my breast, just below my nipple.

He watched the blood flow out for a second before licking at it then finally sucking gently. This time when the darkness came I let it take me. Not caring what happened to my body anymore.


	22. Chapter 22

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer  
_Sorry.. another lemon warning. Poor Bella, I am so mean to her.. maybe some day I will write something nice for her. Probably not though lol. As always.. please review!!! Please Please! **

**Chapter 22**

My dreams were full of blood and pain. A few times my mind reached out for the conscious world, then retreated quickly when I felt the burning pain in my leg. Jonah had returned to wake me, and this time he was not alone.

"Wake-ee, wake-ee.. It's time for dinner." Jonah laughed and slapped my face a few times.

I blinked a few times before Jonah's and Victor's faces floated into view. The pain rolled across my body in waves, making it hard to breath.

"You're man called, and he wasn't very polite with his words. Unfortunately, you will be receiving the punishment." Victor's smooth voice dripped with malice next to me.

There wasn't enough energy in me to fight, all I could do was watch the two shadowy figures move around the room in a blur. One of them had untied my wrists and was lifting me off the bed. Jonah's face materialized in front of me and his red eyes seemed to be hungrier than before. Below me Victor chuckled.

"How lucky for us that your pain is our pleasure." Jonah had lowered me back to the bed. Instead of the mattress I felt the smooth skin of Victor's naked body. Every movement dug the needles deeper into my leg, tearing at my skin.

Adrenaline shot through my body making me suddenly very aware of what was happening. Jonah had come up behind me and put the same sharp knife he'd used before to my throat, pulling me up so that my back was pressed against his chest.

"This time you're going to participate." Victor threatened while hr fondled my breasts.

I felt like a bird trapped in a cage with two vicious cats. Ignoring the knife, I scratched and clawed at Victor's face. My screams and curses came out in a flurry of words. They were drowned out by the loud snarl from behind me.

Jonah slipped an arm around my waist to hold me tighter to him and dug the knife into my skin. I felt my blood run down my neck to my chest. Little scarlet drops fell onto Victor's stomach. He dipped his finger into the blood and sucked it off, making a vulgar gesture with his tongue. I shuddered and calmed my urge to fight.

"That's a good girl, look at me now." Victor put a hand on my jaw and held my face so he could look me in the eyes. The room began to swirl and fade until all I could see were his two red irises shining at me. He spoke again and his voice sounded like it was being pumped into the room over a loud speaker.

"Isabella, you want me to be inside you." His words vibrated in my ears and a relaxed feeling came over me. I calmed with each sound wave that hit my body. I had a strange need to feel Victor in me.

"You want it so bad you can't think of anything else." Every thought in my head was of him. How it would feel when he slipped inside me then moved in and out over and over. I began to breath harder, barely able to contain my need.

"Now fulfill your needs Isabella." Without waiting for another command I pulled myself up on top of him and forced myself down on his waiting erection.

"It feels good doesn't it? It's the best feeling you've ever had. Now ride it, as hard as you can." His voice seemed to be slipping further away but was still in my mind. I wasn't even sure if they were his words or my thoughts anymore.

He was right though, as soon as he suggested it a burst of pleasure formed between my legs. With every thrust it felt better and better. I never wanted it to stop. My heart was pumping at full speed to keep my body moving against him. My moans turned to screams of excitment…

"Lean in close to me Isabella, don't you want to enjoy Jonah too?"

"Of course." I thought, how sill of me to forget Jonah. It seemed impossible for anything to feel better than what I had now though.

I leaned over to Victor so our lips were almost touching. His eyes were still consuming my vision, making my world a lovely red color. How odd that I once thought of them as evil and disgusting. His hands slid down my back to my ass and squeezed it roughly, I giggled lightly. Only a tiny part of my brain was alarmed at how much I was enjoying myself.

"Ask Jonah to join us, you want him inside you too. Don't you Isabella?" I nodded eagerly, this was too much fun to leave him out.

"Jonah, please join us. I want you in me." I sounded automatic, like a ATM machine. That didn't stop Jonah though.

Victor put one hand on both of my cheeks and pulled slightly, giving Jonah full access. When I felt the pressure from him sliding in memories of earlier flashed through the red mist that seemed to be engulfing me. I tensed slightly and stopped moving. What was I doing?

"Relax Isabella, this all feels so good to you now." The red mist pushed the memories away and I followed Victor's command to relax. When I did the pleasure returned to my body, pulsing with each heart beat.

Jonah's hands slipped into my hair, pulling my head back. His hips rocked against me, simultaneously forcing me into Victor. I could barely contain my screams, I was so close, all I needed was Victor's command and I could release. I was floating on clouds of ecstasy.

"I told you that you'd enjoy this." Jonah whispered in my ear while slapping my ass. Why hadn't I believed him? Nothing would ever feel this good ever again.

My world was nothing but sensation, the feeling of Jonah pressed against my back and Victor's chest against mine. Both of them working inside me, faster and faster with each second.

"Wake up." Victor's voice had changed from the smooth calming melody to a sharp command. The red mist that had settled over everything receded into his eyes quickly.

Everything that I had been feeling, the pleasure and complete lack of caring, was replaced with absolute pain.

My screams turned from enjoyment to horror. I tried to pull away from the two vampires but there was no where to go. Each of them worked against me so hard I thought I was going to break in half.

I cried for James, why wasn't he here to stop this? This was his fault. If he had just left me alone after that first day I would have spent the rest of my life thinking "What if?" instead of being tortured by the these two sadistic vampires.

Victor arched against me, his hands closed around my arms in a vice grip. He let out a long moan and relaxed back onto the bed, obviously done with me. If Jonah hadn't been behind me I might have been happier to see him finish, instead I barely noticed. I was too busy crying and trying to block out the pain to see him take the knife and lift it to my neck.

Jonah had taken over all of my senses, all I could feel was him inside me. I was still sore from earlier and was on the brink of losing all rational thoughts when the sharp blade sliced through my skin. Victor had continued along the same cut Jonah had made earlier, only much deeper this time.

He drank heavily, sucking out what little blood I had left. My mouth went dry and the temperature in the room dipped drastically. What was left of my strength left my arms and I collapsed onto Victor, feeling the last bit of life leave my body.

"Stop, don't take it all." Jonah had finished and was tugging me away from Victor.

He put up a fight but finally let go. I felt like a rag doll, my head flopped heavily from side to side as Jonah handled my body carelessly.

"We want him to see her before she's dead. It will hurt him more." Jonah's voice was going in and out, like a radio with bad reception. I sighed with relief. At least the pain was gone.

"Why do you think he didn't just make her a vampire? At least they could have gotten away then." Victor was talking now, his accent making it hard for me to understand everything he was saying.

"Stupid boy, who knows. This will teach him not to disobey again. If he does, it's his head."

I felt angry again, James had ruined my life. In my heart I knew it wasn't really his fault, there was no way he could have foreseen this. It was just so easy to blame him. Tears were slowing gathering in the corners of my eyes which at the moment felt very heavy. I just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

"Bring her here. I want to be the one to do it." Victor barked an order at Jonah, I had missed some of their conversation. My brain was having a difficult time staying focused.

"He should be here by the time she wakes up… You never know. Maybe she'll be more useful than we thought." Victor's lips grazed my the skin on my neck just before something sliced into it. At first I thought he'd cut my open again, then the burning started.

It spread from my neck to my chest, swirling around my heart. When the blood carrying the burning poison reached my heart it was pumped through my entire body in less than a minute. Every part of me felt like it was on fire. Had Victor poured acid into my veins? I expected my skin to burn away at any second. My last fleeting thought was that this is exactly how James had described dying.


	23. Chapter 23

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_  
Happy 2009! Hope you like the chapter.. ;)**

**Chapter 23**

**James POV**

Edward ran silently beside me, we had been to Victor's club, his house and even a few random places I'd gone with Victor… but no Bella. When I called him he was beyond negotiations, I'd broken too many rules. He refused to tell me where he was keeping Bella. He would only tell me after I'd done more work for him to prove my loyalty, I'd told him to go to hell. Thinking back now that was probably the stupidest thing I could have done. I have never been able to control by anger. All I can hope for now is that Bella was still alive. I already know she's been hurt. There's no way Victor and Jonah would have had her for this long and not done anything to her.

We had even tried calling Elias to see if he would join us and fight against Jonah and Victor, but he had only laughed at us. He knew just as well as I do how much stronger and faster they are, it's more likely that Edward and I were running towards our own deaths. Elias told us he was going to hide out until this was over, he didn't want any part of it. The dread I felt over what was happening to Bella weighed heavy in my chest.

"This is where he turned in." Edward whispered next to me.

We had split up for awhile, watching different areas for Victor to show up so we could follow him. When Victor had shown up at the club for a few minutes Bella's scent had still been in his car. I'd know her smell anywhere. I called Edward to meet me there so we could follow him together. I maybe be better at following a scent, but Edward ran faster.

"All right, we need a diversion. If we break in the front door they'll just kill Bella. If we can distract them I can sneak in there and get her out before we have to fight with them." If my heart had still been beating it would have probably had a heart attack about now. I was scared of what I was going to find in the house.

"I'll just go ring the door bell. Which ever one answers the door I'll go after, the other will come to see what's happening and you can go through the back." Edward was still watching the house through the trees, he wouldn't look at me.

I was momentarily shocked at his willingness to put his neck on the line. He had already sworn he would do anything to save Bella, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The guilt I felt over causing their break up crept into my mind again. No matter what had happened between Edward and I in the past, he was still a good guy and he deserved Bella more than I did.

"Ok then.. I'll head for the back. Count to ten then knock on the door. As soon as I hear the fighting I'll break in. Just hold them off as long as you can." Edward nodded in agreement.

I hesitated before taking off, I felt like there was more I should say to him. Maybe I should apologize for stealing his girl and taking his life. As much as I wanted to I couldn't force the words out. This wasn't the time I decided and took off through the trees towards the back of the dark house.

All the windows were covered with heavy curtains, I couldn't see anything inside. I pressed my back against the wall next to a sliding glass door that lead to what I guess would be the kitchen or dining room. I stopped breathing so I could listen to what was going on inside. Nothing. There were no screams, no heartbeats, no talking. My anxiety went up a notch, I should have been able to hear at least something.

There was a explosion of noise in the house. It caught me off guard for a second before I remembered Edward. He was banging relentlessly on the door. Finally there was noise in the house, a pair of feet moved quietly to the door where Edward was still beating on the wood. I braced myself with both hands on the sliding door handle and waited.

The front door creaked open and there were yells and the sound of someone crashing against a wall. Finally I heard Jonah yell for Victor and his feet come running from somewhere in the house. This was my chance. I yanked on the door and the lock popped with a loud groan, the door slid out of my hands and crashed against the opposite wall. Glass shattered but no one seemed to be coming from the front.

I ran through the kitchen scanning each open doorway trying to decided which way to go first. There was a smell of rotting flesh and old blood coming from a large wooden door in the corner, I went there first.

The door jam splintered as I kicked through the wood, it was still falling when I reached the bottom of the stairs. Almost every inch of the walls were covered in blood. How many people had died here I wondered? I shook my head and concentrated, I was here for a reason- Bella.

I could faintly smell here in the room, but not enough. She hadn't been here long. I ran back up the stairs and took a deep breath when I got to the top. Her smell was stronger up here, if I had paid better attention when I first came in I would have noticed this I thought angrily. Following the smell I found a dark hallway that lead to two closed doors. The one on the left smelled of her, it opened easily.

Inside was a bed with a large wooden headboard, two leather straps were anchored to each side. The sheet were covered in blood and there was another smell here… sex. My stomach turned and I spun to leave the room. I have to find her. For the first time in my life I was praying.

As I ran from the room something seemed off in the house. I was too frantic to notice that it was deathly quiet. There should have been noise from the front where Edward was supposed to be fighting with Victor and Jonah. My mind was too busy thinking about Bella though. What horrible things had they done to her? Was she hurt? I needed to find her, make her safe again.

I forced open every door I came to, searching each open space quickly. Finally I ran out of places to look downstairs and would have to head for the upper level. That meant going through the entry way where the fighting should have been going on. I would just have to risk it.

My feet pounded loudly on the wooden floor as I ran for the front of the house. What I found stopped me dead in my tracks. The vampires that were supposed to be there were. Victor, Jonah and Edward. The scene was all wrong though. Instead of fighting they were standing in a line, watching the doorway I'd just come through. Each of them crouched in a attack position, even Edward.

That wasn't what caught me off guard though, it was the forth vampire standing at the end of the line. A beautiful girl with pale skin and long brown hair. She was wearing a black dress that barely covered the important parts of her body. Her red eyes were narrowed in anticipation, her full lips pulled back in a snarl.

"Bella…" I whispered.

How could this have happened? I fell to my knees and held out my hand for her. This couldn't be I thought sadly. If anything I had wanted to protect her from this. She looked so different, no wonder I hadn't recognized her. Her hair was all around her in wild waves, and the look on her face was nothing I'd ever seen before. Angry and hungry, she was barely holding back from lunging at me.

I looked over at Edward for help, but his face had the same angry expression. He stood slightly in front of Bella, protecting her from me.

"Why?" I wasn't expecting an explanation, but he answered anyway.

"This is your own fault James. You did this to me! Victor promise me Bella if I brought you to him. He knows I'll be a better subordinate than you."

"Bella, please. Come with me." I searched her face for signs that she wanted to leave with me. Her eyes softened slightly then snapped back to the hatred filled stare.

"She'll only speak when ordered to James. Looks like you're out of luck." Victor had taken a step back and was leaning against the wall lazily.

"Kill him." His words were barely out of his mouth when all three of the other vampires lunged at me. There was nothing left to fight for, I watched as Bella came at my neck. I opened my arms for her to come and release me from this pain.


	24. Chapter 24

**_The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer_  
Sorry, more naughtiness in this chapter. I swear I am not a freak or anything lol, in real life I am a mild mannered stay at home mommy. I am just a closet perv I guess XD Plus, Victor and the other vamps are supposed to be horrible, these were some of the worst things I could think of... sort of. I didn't want to do anything too bad.. poor Bella.**

**Chapter 24**

**JamesPOV**

The disgusting smell of death from earlier was invading my senses. Was this death for me? Had my soul already been lost and all that's left for me is to lay in pain and smell this sickening crap forever? I'd been laying on something hard and sticky for days, my sense only picking up on my surroundings for the past few hours. The hunger had begun to itch in my throat and now it was a horrible burning in my veins. I needed to feed, but I still couldn't move.

After a few more hours I could finally open my eyes. I was back in the bloody basement, my body was in pieces. My left arm was lying next to me, only connected by a few strings of tissue and my legs had both been crushed. They lay useless and unmoving while my mind raced, trying to remember what happened. Bite marks burned all over my neck and chest, each time I took a breath there was a strange whistling noise in my throat.

While I pondered what had happened in the entryway my body slowly pulled itself together. It was a slow and painful process. At least now I could sit up.

At the last second Victor had yelled for everyone to stop and leave me as I was. He himself had thrown my body down the stairs into the basement. I wasn't sure he'd kept me alive, but I wish he hadn't. The vision of Bella clawing and biting at me violently made my heart hurt. Did that mean she hates me too. It was my fault that all of this had happened to her, maybe she finally realized what a loser I am.

The tears wouldn't come, they had dried up when my heart stopped beating. If it were possible I would have cried an ocean now, losing her hurt more than anything ever had. Even the huge gapping hole in my neck didn't compare.

Then there was Edward. How could I have ever felt bad for that ass hole? He'd set me up. I saw it now, looking back at everything. He had been spending more and more time away from me. At some point the must have given into his hate for me and crossed over to join Victor. I wondered how long he had been playing me, when I told him to come meet us in Nevada I suspected. I never should have trusted him.

He had insisted on leaving Bella alone in the motel room while we fed, he said it would waste time if we went separately. I punched the wall next to me angrily and it barely cracked the plaster, my strength was taking awhile to come back.

The door opened letting a stream of light into the dark room. I could hear six separate pairs of foot steps coming down. Six? I sat back on edge, not sure what to expect.

An overheard light clicked on, spreading the room in harsh white light. Edward stood with his arm around Bella glaring at me. In front of him Victor, Jonah and Elias stood with a small blonde girl between them. I kept looking at Bella though, she didn't look angry anymore. She looked, blank.

"Good morning James. I see your body is finally putting itself back together." Jonah and Elias snickered while looking at my still weak and useless limbs.

"Why didn't you just kill me. Get it over with." I wasn't in the mood to play games, and the smell from the human girl had started a fire in my chest.

"I decided to keep you for entertainment. You know how much I enjoy the suffering of others." He smiled and pushed the girl towards me. She fell onto her hands and knees next to me.

When she looked up I could see she was young, barely fifteen I guessed. Her green eyes were wide with fear.

"Please help me." She whispered and inched a little bit closer. I had to turn my head away and hold my breath. Every muscle in my body was twitching, the need to bite her was so intense I couldn't think straight.

"He's not going to save you. He's going to kill you." Jonah kicked the girl so she fell onto her stomach. Her hair fell off to the side, leaving part of her neck exposed. The large blue vein that ran down the side pulsed against her thin skin, my mouth filled with venom.

"I'm not killing anyone. Just let me die." I refused to look at the girl any longer. There would be no need for me to feed if I was just going to die.

"I thought you might say something like that. Actually, I was hoping for it." Victor smiled smugly at me.

"Edward, go to the club… find us another girl." He didn't look at Edward while he spoke. I saw Edward's eyes flash in a moment of surprise before pulling at Bella to head for the door.

"Leave Bella."

"Why?" Edward spoke without thinking. Victor had him pinned against the wall in a second.

"Because I told you to. Now go, get the fuck out of my sight." Edward swallowed noisily and looked at Bella. Her expression never changed, she wasn't even looking at him. She stared out into nothing.

Edward ran up the stairs and I heard a door slam shut somewhere in the house.

"Now, I think it's time we broke down James' spirit. Get a chair." Elias pulled out a old metal folding chair from beneath the stairs and set it in the center of the room.

Victor sat in it and snapped his fingers towards Bella, she sat on his lap without blinking. Something was very wrong about her, if only I could talk to her for a second.

"You have a choice James. Kill this girl, or corrupt her." Jonah whispered something in the young girls ear and her eyes widened in fright before she nodded.

"Bella, why don't you show me how thankful you are for me allowing you to be immortal. You know what I like." Bella nodded automatically and slid off Victor's lap.

She sat on her knees in front of him, unbuttoning his pants. The blond girl mimicked her actions on me.

"What the fuck? Get off me!" I pushed the girl away as Victor laughed.

Bella had begun giving him head, she moaned and sucked excitedly. Disgust and anger swelled inside me. There was something going on, that wasn't Bella.

"James, if you don't allow Casey to do as she was instructed you will be responsible for her pain." Jonah stepped on the girls ankle and crushed it. She screamed in agony and rolled to her side, crying for her father.

"Now, get to it you little bitch." She pulled herself up to her hands shakily and went back to unbuttoning my pants. I moved to push her hands away again when Jonah shook his head and motioned towards her other leg. He would do the same thing to her other ankle if I stopped her.

I closed my eyes and tried to block everything out when I felt the girls mouth close around me. She was warm and soft. Memories of being in Bella's room the night before I left her to be a vampire floated into my mind. I couldn't help it when I stiffened with the thoughts.

When I opened my eyes I could see Bella still moving between Victor's legs. Her dress had hiked up around her hips, showing everything.

"Look at this sicko, getting off while his girl goes down on another guy." Elias laughed in the corner. His eyes were hungry as he watched both girls degrade themselves for their sadistic pleasure.

"Bella, come up here.. Give me the rest." Victor brushed Bella's hair back and smiled at her.

She sat in his lap facing me, letting Victor slide into her. Her face was still blank and unchanging, she didn't even flinch when Victor pulled her top down to play with her nipples.

The blonde girl moved when Jonah nudged her with his foot. She hesitantly moved above me, unsure how to proceed.

"Don't make her do this… she has nothing to do with this." I didn't want to do to this poor girl what Victor was doing too Bella, my Bella I thought angrily.

"She will do it! Or I'll ripe her heart out and make you eat asshole." Jonah leaned in close and the girl scrambled to force herself down on me, crying and shaking like a leaf.

"Bella, I want James to see how much you enjoy doing this." Victor watched me over Bella's pale shoulder, enjoying the torture he was putting me through.

Bella's features snapped to life, her mouth turned up in a seductive smile. She arched her back and let her head fall back slightly while she bounced excitedly in Victor's lap.

"She loves it James, she does this for all of us." Jonah and Elias gave me knowing smiles. If I could have thrown up I would have.

I had finally figured out what was wrong with Bella, it wasn't her doing these things. Victor had hypnotized her…

"Bella, wake up! BELLA!!" I screamed at her from across the room.

She slowed down and shook her head slightly, her face fell in confusion at what she saw in front of her. I hadn't thought of what I must look like with this girl riding me right in from of her. Bella looked at me with hurt in her red eyes.

"James?" She tried to pull away from Victor but he held her head so he could look her in the eyes.

"No Bella, you want to stay right where you are." Her body relaxed and she went back to fucking him.

"Nice try. You know, I think it's been so easy to keep her in the trance because deep down she really does like this." Victor had stood up and bent Bella over at the waist.

All the emotions in were drowned out with anger. There was no reason for what was happening. I knew know that no matter how much I obeyed Victor or followed him around like a little dog he would have eventually done something like this to me.

His only reason for existing anymore was to hurt other people, I'd seen it with my own eyes and now I was the one suffering.

"Come on James, I know you like watching. And you have your own sweet little pussy. Bella's used up now… why not just enjoy what you've got there?" Victor was talking at laughing, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of waves crashing in my ears.

I thought of the day on the beach, when Bella and I had been together for the first time. She had been so innocent, but so sure of herself. There had always been something about her that I couldn't resist. I loved her and I never told her.

"I'm sorry." I whispered in the girls ear. She stopped moving and fell back against me.

"Are you going to save me?" She managed to say between sobs.

"Yes." I watched Jonah's eyes as I sunk my teeth into her delicate neck.

I was going to kill him first.


	25. Chapter 25

**The Twilight characters belong to Stephanie Meyer  
I am going out of town tomorrow and won't be back for awhile.. so I thought I'd post this up for you now. I was going to split it into two chapters and write more about where Bella goes but I didn't know when I'd be able to get the last chapter up so I condensed it. I honestly haven't had time to edit so sorry about the mistakes, I will hopefully come back and fix them later. Thank you all for the great reviews!! And please don't feel bad for telling me what you think is wrong with the story or my writing in general! The only way to learn is by criticism right?!? Hope you like it.. I know its not the sweetest ending but I felt like this is how it should be. =) -Laura**

**Chapter 26**

Jonah laughed while I drank from the girl, him and Victor were arguing over who won a bet. Victor thought I would have killed her the second she touched me. He had underestimated my self control. Even with the hunger burning through every inch of my body I could have resisted killing the girl. I just knew that even if I didn't do it, one of them would. Plus, I needed more strength in order to fight all three of them. Then when Edward got back… I would make him suffer.

"Bet it tastes good doesn't it James." Jonah had crouched down in front of me, inspecting the girls partially naked body like a cut of meat.

I took one last drink and pushed her body to the side. She fell onto the floor with the sound of an egg cracking. My body instantly felt better, strength had returned to my muscles.

"Don't worry. Edward should be back soon with another one for you to kill, the girls love him He's even better at catching them than Elias." Victor had sat back down and now Bella was facing him, her breasts in his face.

It took all my control not to go for him first, it was better that way I rationalized. She would keep him occupied enough so I could at least take out Jonah, then Elias would be a piece of cake. He was weak and stupid, an easy kill.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Th

e muscles in my legs tensed tightly, ready to spring me into the air. Jonah was still laughing and talking with Victor, watching my Bella me thoroughly used.

"God damn son of a bitch!" I screamed and shot myself into the air. There was a second of weightlessness as I hovered in front of Jonah, long enough for me to catch the surprise in his eyes. It didn't last long.

My fist made contact with his chest and broke through the flesh and bones that were supposed to protect his heart. His shattered bones scratched against my hand and pushed deeper into his chest cavity, closing my hand around the cold, dead muscle of his heart. With a satisfied smile I squeezed and ripped it out, then tossed it over my shoulder like a grain of salt.

Amazingly he was still standing, looking at his own inside in shock. I pulled my fist back, still covered in bits of grey tissue, and landed my punch against the side of his face. His head snapped backwards, pulling his body with it. Once he was on the floor I used one quick kick to send his head flying across the room, coming to rest against the wall like a deflated basketball.

I growled as Elias finally moved, he'd edged towards the stairs in a awkward attempt to get a head start. My reflexes were faster than his and with one well timed jump I was across the room with my hands on both sides of his head, my thumbs pressed tightly against his temples. The thin part of his skull where my thumbs lay broke easily and I felt the slimy sponge like brain matter as it squished between my hands.

With a snarl I tossed his body into the wooden support beams of the old stairs, they came crashing down on his limp body like Lincoln logs. The air was filled with dust and splinters but I could see just fine. I crouched low to the floor and circled around Victor who was standing now, feet apart, hands up, ready for an attack. There was a constant growl vibrating in my chest, my anger had awakened the beast that had been sleeping inside me.

Just as I was about to go for Victor, a dark lump of material stirred at his feet and let out a scared gasp. Bella was waking up out of her trance. She surveyed the scene in front of her. Jonah's head less body, the collapsed stairs, my angry snarl, and finally her own body. Victor and I both watched her as she looked at her hands, turning them back and forth to inspect her palms and forearms.

On shaky legs, she stood, using the chair for support. Her eyes were wide with wonder, no doubt amazed at the clarity in which she could see every part of the room. She ran her hands down her own body, gently pushing and probing at her skin. It took a full minute or so for the realization of what was wrong with her body to register in her eyes.

When it hit her all the anger and violence drained out of me. He sadness that engulfed her was unbearable. She crumpled to the floor and buried her face in her hands. I knew what she was thinking now, she wanted to cry, but there were no tears. Bella lifted her face to me and in a strangled voice she whispered.

"I'm dead." It wasn't a question, rather a statement of defeat.

I was sure of every thought running through her pretty little head. Never again would she be able to go home. Before, even with the complicated circumstances there was a chance that she'd be able to see her parents again. Now it was a lost hope. She would spend eternity craving human blood and taking the lives of the innocent. There would be no college, no children, no wedding. It was a double edged sword. She had eternity to do whatever she wanted, but the possibilities were limited.

It was too much for her to take in at once, she crumpled into a ball on the floor, wrapping her arms tightly around her shoulders.

"See James, this is why women are unworthy of immortality. They don't embrace the strength and power it gives them. They only grieve for the things it takes away." Victor smiled wickedly at me from his spot across the room. Some of the anger had returned to me. I was torn between my desire to kill Victor, and my need to comfort Bella.

"Bella served her purpose, and now it's time for her existence to end." He stepped closer to Bella and lifted his foot above her motionless form.

Before I could move to stop him a small white hand reached up and gripped the bottom of his foot, stopping it in mid air.

Without so much as blinking, Bella twisted her thin wrist gracefully. There were a series of light popping noises and Victor's leg was now facing a strange direction. He fell backwards in a howl of pain and Bella had rose to stand above him.

"How dare you." Her voice was icy and deathly quiet. I took a step back to give her room to work.

"How dare you think you think I am weaker than you." Bella put one delicate foot between Victor's legs and crushed his entire pelvis to the floor. He screamed in agony and tried to pull himself away, but she wasn't letting him go anywhere.

There was fire in her eyes, a hatred I'd never encountered before shown there. Bella bent over and wrapped her hands around Victor's arms just below the should and yanked. With a horrible tearing sound the pulled away from his body, Bella smiled sweetly.

"Remember the way you touched me with these hands Victor?" She spoke lovingly to him, like someone calming a child.

"They will never, ever, touch another person again." Using her newly acquired vampire teeth, Bella tore and chewed at the hands attached the arms she held, giving me a disturbing vision of someone enjoying a chicken leg.

"And now, it's time for your existence to end." Bella crouched in front of Victor and with one last satisfied smiled she ripped his head from his shoulders and threw across the room with the speed of a bullet.

She stood over the mangled body for a long time, breathing through clenched teeth, her hands still balled into fists. I didn't want to push her too far, so instead of calling out to her I waited for her to notice me.

After a long silence she lifted her head in my direction, studying me carefully. In a flash she was in front of me, one slender arm outstretched with her hand around my neck. She squeezed slightly and lifted my body off the ground.

"Bella… please…" I could barely speak, there wasn't enough air to vibrate my vocal chords. There was still a distant glare in her eyes, as if she wasn't really looking at me.

Her strength was amazing, even as I struggled against her it seemed to grow. I was sure that at any second she was going to pop my head off just like she had Victor's when her grip suddenly went slack and she dropped me to the floor.

She looked down at me with remorse and held out one shaking hand.

"I'm sorry. I just… got lost in the moment." I took her hand and stood to face her.

We watched each other carefully for the moment, neither of us sure what was supposed to happen next.

"Bella." My voice caught in my throat, there were so many things I was sorry for, and not the words to say it. There would never be the right words to make up for what she'd gone through.

She fell into my arms, her own circling around my neck in a desperate hold. I lifted her into my arms and moved towards the heap of ruble that had been the stairs. With a few carefully placed steps I was close enough to the doorway to jump out of the basement.

Once we were outside I sat on the ground with her still in my lap. She hadn't said another word, and hadn't slackened her hold. I just ran my hand through her silky hair, waiting for her to speak.

"What now?" Her tiny voice finally came out from under her bowed head.

"I don't know." It was the truth, and it seemed to cruel to lie to her now.

"Do you remember what happened?" I asked her cautiously. Without knowing exactly what had happened myself, it was hard to venture into that dangerous territory.

"Yes." She didn't offer any explanations or details, so I let it go for now.

A car was pulling up the driveway and we both stood in alarm.

Edward parked and got out the car with a troubled expression. I looked at the passenger seat for the girl he was supposed to have brought back, it was empty.

"Where is she?" I called to him.

He was looking at Bella with his head hung slightly, like a guilty puppy. He barely acknowledged my question.

"Who?"

"The girl! The one you were supposed to bring back." I barked the words at him. I was in no mood for games.

"Oh." Was his lame response. After a seconds thought he continued. "I changed my mind."

"What?"

"I changed my mind. I don't want to help Victor anymore. I don't care if he kills me." His eyes were still on Bella, watching her move freely for the first time since her transformation I was sure.

"I'm so sorry Bella. I never wanted you to get hurt." He took a step closer to us. I snarled and took a step closer. There was no way I was letting that asshole close to her now.

"Stop" Bella put a hand on my chest. "He never touched me James."

I watched helplessly as she walked over to Edward and embraced him warmly. As much as I hated that she was forgiving him so easily, I was glad he'd kept enough dignity to keep his hands off her while she was under Victor's spell.

They both walked back to where I was and we stood in a circle, all of us uncertain of how to proceed. We came to the conclusion that the house needed to be burnt down to insure that all three vampires inside would die, even though I was positive the job was already done.

I had spent enough time burning down building for Victor that it didn't take long for the house to be a huge ball of flames. We took off in the car Edward had been driving before anyone would notice the smoke.

We drove for miles, the three of us in silent concentration, mulling over everything that had happened to us. After all, we were just a couple teenagers, none of us were prepared to deal with eternity or what it meant for us. We drove North, only stopping for gas and to feed when absolutely necessary.

It was the first time Bella had killed without being under Victor's influence, and afterwards she didn't speak for almost twenty four hours. When we reached the tip of Canada she finally spoke.

"Stop the car." Edward and I both turned to look at her in the back seat.

She was still wearing the small black dress and her hair was a tangled mess. There were streaks of dirt and blood on her pale skin. Even through all of that she was beautiful. When her eyes met mine there was a new strength there, a confidence she'd never had. We pulled off the side of the road and waited for her to finish.

"I am leaving." I spun in my seat to look her in the eyes, stunned and hurt.

"What?" It almost angered me. This was our first chance to be together and she was leaving? After everything we'd been through she didn't want to be with me?

"Let's talk outside." She opened the door and stepped out into the still night air. She came to Edward's open window and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"You're going ot be ok, I know you can be strong and fight the evil that's in you. It's in all of us you know." When she smiled her eyes crinkled. He just nodded and gave her half hearted smiled. After she walked away Edward gave me a resigned look and nodded. Once I was outside I followed her a few miles from the car, just far enough so we could have some privacy.

"What are you talking about Bella? You can't go now." I knew the desperation I was feeling was showing on my face by the soft way she looked at me.

"I have to James. I need to be alone for awhile." She placed a hand on my cheek and kissed me lightly.

"Too much has happened in such a short time, it's not right for us now. I need to sort things out. I am having hard enough time trying to deal with the fact that I am a vampire, and after what _they_ did to me…" Her eyes grew distant with memories for a second before she blinked back to reality. "I have to work out my demons for awhile."

"No, Bella. I can help you… please don't go. I'm sorry I didn't save you sooner. This is all my fault, just give me some time to make it up to you!You shouldn't be alone right now!" I wrapped her in my arms, refusing to let go,

"Eventually James, we will be together. I know now more than ever that you and I are supposed to be with each other. We have forever right?" She laughed dryly, the sadness seeping through her smile.

"But I don't want you to go." My arms loosened around her, my heart was giving up already. I'd hurt her too much, it wasn't my place to make her stay if she wanted to go. My motionless heart ached. "It doesn't have to be like this."

"Yes, it does." She kissed my lips again and I promised myself I wouldn't forget the way they felt, ever. "You should stay with Edward. He needs you more than I do right now. Help him James."

She had taken a few steps backwards towards the trees and was fading into the shadows.

"I love you." I heard her whisper after she was already gone, running silently through the trees into oblivion.

I stood there for a long time, thinking about what to do. Most of me was screaming to go after her, chase her to the ends of the Earth if I had to. The other part knew she was right. If we had come together in a different place, in a different time, things might have worked. Now there was too much holding us apart. Everytime she looked at me she would be haunted with the memories of what she'd been through and seen. Every second she would blame me for what fate had dealt her, even her being a vampire was in some twisted way my fault.

"I'll find you Bella! It's a promise!" I screamed out towards the trees. It was as much of a promise to myself as it was to her. I would give her some time alone, to think, then I'd look for her. It didn't matter if it took until the end of time, I was going to find her.

I walked slowly back to the car, dragging my feet on the hard packed dirt. When I got in the car Edward just looked at me with a patient stare. For the first time since he had become a vampire I could see a glimmer of what he used to be shinning through his red eyes.

"You ok man?" He asked me while starting the car.

"Yeah…" I ran a hand through my hair and leaned back against the seat with a sigh.

"I know how it feels, to have her leave you. It sucks." I thought about what he said for a minute, watching the tree branches we passed glow in the moonlight.

"I'm sorry Eddie. For messing things up for you." It wasn't the best apology ever, but I had a feeling Edward knew what I meant.

"It's okay. It's in the past now right?" He smirked at me from the shadows. I just laughed at him and reached for the radio.

For hours every song that came on ripped through my heart, reminding me that the girl I love is out there in the cold Canadian forest, by herself. For some reason I felt peaceful though. I knew she had a lot of hard times in front of her, but she was strong, she'd make it through. And like she said, some day we would be together. Until then I would spend every free moment remembering her touch, her smell… and the way her lips felt on mine. Waiting for the day I'd feel them again.


End file.
